Guilty as Sin (1993)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer (WGA):

Larry Cohen (written by)

Release Date:

4 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A female lawyer takes an accused wife-murderer as a client, but finds herself morally compelled to betray him one way or another.

Plot Keywords:

Female Lawyer | Male Corrupts Female | Arson | Newspaper Headline | Fall From Height

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Rebecca De Mornay	...	Jennifer Haines
Don Johnson	...	David Edgar Greenhill
Stephen Lang	...	Phil Garson
Jack Warden	...	Moe
Dana Ivey	...	Judge D. Tompkins
Ron White	...	Prosecutor DiAngelo
Norma Dell'Agnese	...	Emily, Jennifer's Assistant
Sean McCann	...	Nolan, Greenhill's Doorman
Luis Guzmán	...	Lt. Martinez
Robert Kennedy	...	Caniff
James Blendick	...	McMartin
Tom Butler	...	D.A. Heath
Christina Grace	...	Miriam Langford (as Christina Baren)
Lynne Cormack	...	Esther Rothman
Barbara Eve Harris	...	Kathleen Bigelow

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Before the climatic fall from the upper level, there is an obvious addition of footrests that have been added to the side of the balcony to serve as support for the stunt woman before she falls to the ground.

Quotes:

David Greenhill: See, people like us Miriam, we're - we're warm. But she's a - she's an attorney.

Movie Connections:

References Dial M for Murder (1954)

Original and slickly done, but the pieces just don't fall into place as they should

If it could be called anything, 'Guilty as Sin' is a missed opportunity, and that's putting it lightly. It could have been a great thriller, but something went wrong in the process, and the result is a mess, a failed vision abandoned halfway through. All of the blame lies in the obvious lack of interest on the part of the filmmakers. Sidney Lumet has directed THE best film of the 80s in 'Running on Empty', and one of the better 70s pics in 'Dog Day Afternoon', so the problem isn't a lack of talent. It's just that the makers of this movie were lazy, making it because they needed money, a job to be done as quick and painlessly as possible.

Because of this everything falls apart. Adding complications, DeMornay is seriously miscast. Though no one is doubting her ample acting skills, she looks misplaced here and just isn't all that good. Don Johnson on the other hand, is perfect for his role, though he may not be as good of an actor as DeMornay is.

'Guilty as Sin' is nothing more than a tedious, connect-the-dots thriller that wastes the talents of everyone involved. It isn't impossible to watch, it's just that it's not very good.

4/10