Year of Release: 1985
Director: Richard Marquand
Starring: Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote, Robert Loggia, Lance Henriksen, Al Ruscio, Leigh Taylor-Young, Karen Austin, Sanford Jensen, Brandon Call, Christina Hutter
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Tubi
Synopsis and Review
These days Richard Marquand is mostly well known as the director of "Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi", but before that he had a long career in TV and tackling documentaries. He sadly also died a few years after the release of "Jagged Edge". The film also marks one of the first produced Joe Eszterhas scripts, who of course became well known for writing "Flashdance", "Basic Instinct", and the infamous "Showgirls". The film follows the story of Teddy Barnes, a former prosecutor who is now a high-profile lawyer, recently divorced, with two young children. She becomes entangled in a high profile case when she decides to accept the case of Jack Forrester, who is being accused of murdering his wife and their maid. Teddy is facing her former boss, Thomas Krasny, with whom she has unfinished business regarding a case they faced just a few years earlier. Teddy reaches out to Sam Ransom, a private investigator and one of her closest friends, to dig up everything he can about Forrester. Teddy and Jack grow closer, and eventually start a romantic relationship, something Sam warns her against. At the same time she starts receiving anonymous letters with information relevant for the case, all of them leading to the innocence of Forrester. As the trial starts and as witnesses are summoned, Teddy can't help but recognize some of the MO Jack applied on some of the witnesses, is very similar to how their own relationship has evolved.
Upon watching "Jagged Edge" one can't help but realize how similar the premise of this narrative is with what Joe Ezsterhas wrote for "Basic Instinct". The film in itself can be considered an homage to classic noir films from Hollywood, where a murder trial is taking place, and the identity of the killer is never quite certain, with the suspect at times fitting the profile, while situations that are uncovered suggest otherwise. It's very much a film that falls in place with polished thrillers from that time frame, which included the films "Suspect" from Peter Yates, and even "The Morning After" from Sidney Lumet. Films that featured a strong central female character, who is confronted with ambiguous situations, and eventually get involved with men whose character they can't necessarily vouch for. These films did give women an opportunity to push their narratives beyond the typical damsel in distress, or playing second fiddle for the typical male cop/detective/action hero, which seemed to dominate the screens in the 1980s/1990s (though Sally Field, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Glenn Close, Cher, Sigourney Weaver, Jane Fonda, Kathleen Turner, and a few other great talents did find a way to be a part of more diverse stories). "Jagged Edge" doesn't necessarily have much surprise to it - most of its holding power stems from its cast which is indeed stellar featuring the always remarkable Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote, and Robert Loggia all bringing to life these characters with enough charisma and charm to continuously make them believable and genuine. The production team is also top notch, featuring John Barry's score, Matthew F. Leonetti's cinematography, and Ann Roth's costumes. It's a smaller film in the filmography of some of these acting titans, but it's one that is watchable and enjoyable.
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