Subtitles:

English (SDH), Spanish, none

Extras:

In this hit thriller, a prosecuting attorney-turned-defense lawyer falls in love with a rich, charming client who's... been accused of murdering his wife and her maid with a hunting knife. When an unknown assailant gruesomely slays San Francisco newspaper heiress Paige Forrester (Maria Mayenzet), her husband and business partner, Jack Forrester (Jeff Bridges), turns to corporate attorney Teddy Barnes (Glenn Close) for counsel. Teddy, who quit her job with the district attorney's office four years earlier over an ethical dilemma, has reservations about returning to criminal work; nevertheless, she accepts the assignment, convinced of Jack's innocence and eager to face off in court against her old boss, DA Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote), who's about run for attorney general. With the help of investigator Sam Ransom (Robert Loggia), the recently divorced Teddy builds a strong defense for her client, though the work -- and her incipient romance with Jack -- cause strain in her relationship with her children. When Jack's innocence and his romantic intentions come into question, Teddy feels her life slipping back into a moral quagmire until a series of courtroom denouements set the stage for even bigger surprises. Big-name screenwriter Joe Eszterhas' follow-up to Flashdance, Jagged Edge was directed by Richard Marquand, who had previously lensed Return of the Jedi. Parts of Jagged Edge were shot on-location in San Francisco, whose City Hall provides the film's courtroom exteriors.

~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Pouring rain, flashing lightning, scary music: ''Jagged Edge'' begins with all this and more at a lonely beach house, and seems to be signaling at least a hint of irony in the midst of all this crashing melodrama. However, the sequence is in deadly earnest, and it proves to be no less graceful for the rest of the movie. ''Jagged Edge'' has harsh lighting, blunt performances, and artless, no-nonsense dialogue relieved by the occasional bit of excess color. For instance, a judge addressing trial lawyers: ''I'll tell you now, I see this trial degenerating and I'll hit you like a freight train coming down the High Sierra!''


''Jagged Edge,'' which was directed by Richard Marquand and opens today at the Coronet and other theaters, concerns a glamorous lawyer who falls for her client, a newspaper publisher accused of murdering his wealthy wife. Did he or didn't he? It hardly helps that there's only one interesting answer to that question. The screenplay, by Joe Eszterhas, does what it can to throw up a smokescreen, but the audience will probably be well ahead of the story's final resolution.

Gary Tooze

May 10th, 2011