When two legends of the Silver Screen get together to co-headline a film, it’s always noteworthy—especially because the acting, if nothing else, is guaranteed to be of the highest quality. Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman are, without question, two of the finest performers of the past seven decades. In 2000, they came together to star in the psychological thriller Under Suspicion. The two titans had previously shared a few scenes in Clint Eastwood‘s legendary western Unforgiven, but this was the first and only time they starred opposite one another, shouldering a film equally, in a dual capacity. The result was exactly as you would expect: a terrifically acted tête-à-tête that features some of the best back-and-forth dialogue you will find.
Hackman has always been so believable as a powerful but unscrupulous man of means, as in Superman, Absolute Power, Unforgiven, and No Way Out. Freeman has also proven that playing a hard-nosed cop seeking the truth is right up his alley in films like Seven and Kiss the Girls. In this movie, they square off in a film that delivers a hell of a twist ending that you’ll never see coming, and it is currently streaming for free on Netflix.
What Is ‘Under Suspicion’ About?
Set within the backdrop of a steamy San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the country’s annual San Sebastián Festival, Under Suspicion is a taut psychological thriller that pits Hackman’s character, Henry Hearst, against Freeman’s Victor Benezet. Hearst is a powerful tax attorney who becomes Benezet’s prime suspect in the rape and murder of two young local girls. Hearst claims to have only found the body of one of the girls and notified authorities, but Benzenet believes his involvement to be something far more sinister.
Both Hearst and Benezet make compelling cases under the direction of Stephen Hopkins, who adapted the 1979 novel Brainwash by John Wainwright for the screen. Hopkins gives both of the Hollywood legends the latitude with which to execute the cat-and-mouse game. Thomas Jane (The Mist, 61) supports the duo as Deputy Detective Felix Owens, a dogged detective under Benezet, who is sure of Hearst’s guilt and puts the screws on him. Monica Bellucci also buttresses the two leads with her usual blend of sophisticated elegance and a mysterious motivation as Hearst’s wife, Chantal.
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‘Under Suspicion’ Is Unique For More Than Just the Star Power of Its Two Leads
On top of the star power of its two leads, Under Suspicion benefits from the unique way it is filmed. Playing in real time, the film’s events occur over a runtime of just under two hours. This adds to the tension that Hackman and Freeman create and compresses the sense of desperation and urgency that starts slowly but escalates rapidly as the facts of the cases are unveiled. All but a few minutes of the movie takes place in Benezet’s large, plush office and the adjacent interrogation room, which lends an arthouse feel.
Another fascinating choice made by Hopkins is the quick cuts in and out of their exchanges to a first-person point of view, as Henry clumsily tries to recount how the murders happened and his ever-evolving alibi that keeps changing. Benezet and Owens believe they have their man trapped in a lie and cornered. Hearst pleads that they have the wrong man as he dabs at his forehead, the beads of sweat building with every scene. By the time they move the setting into the white-walled interrogation room looking for a confession on tape, the audience is glued to their seats to see if Benezet is correct and if Hearst really is the kind of monster that could commit such hideous crimes. We won’t spoil what happens but it is certainly worth the watch to see the curveball twist delivered so deftly by the two behemoths and expertly crafted for the big screen by Hopkins.
Under Suspicion
- Release Date
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August 24, 2000
- Runtime
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110 minutes
- Director
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Stephen Hopkins
- Writers
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Claude Miller, Jean Herman, Michel Audiard, Tom Provost
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