Libramedi
Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
merklekranz
"Benefit of the Doubt" features another "Creepy Grandpa" performance by Donald Sutherland, not unlike his character in "Panic". Sutherland is very good in both films, and is surrounded by excellent supporting actors, William H. Macy in "Panic", and Amy Irving and Graham Greene in "Benefit of the Doubt". Another plus is the beautiful desert setting, with magnificent red rock formations. Although the story is rather straightforward, the entertainment value is high. Grandfather is released from prison, and seeks relationship with estranged Daughter who helped convict him. Theodore Bikel's performance, as the district attorney is noteworthy also. Recommended. - MERK
sol1218
**SPOILERS** The film "Benefit of a Doubt" is not all that bad if you just watch it for it's unintentional comedy that by far eclipse everything else in it. We see convicted murderer Frank Braswell, Donald Sutherland, released from prison-for good behavior- after serving 22 years for murdering his wife, Patricia Tallman. As we soon learn the reason Frank was convicted in the first place was his at the time 12 year old daughter Karen's, Amy Irving, eye witness testimony.Now a free man the first thing that Frank does is shoot right down to Cottonwood Arz. where Karen and her 12 year old son Pete, Rider Strong, lives. With Karen wanting to have nothing to do with him Frank makes himself more then available to both her and Pete by hanging around the house and trying to make himself useful. This strange and threatening behavior on Frank's part has Karen go to the local Sheriff Calhoun, Graham Green, to see what he can do-which is nothing-to keep her overbearing father out of both her hair and property.A things start to settle down a bit in the Braswell house with Frank finally being accepted, because of his folksy charm, by both Karen and Pete his true and sinister motives start to come to the surface. It's when Frank finds out that Karen's live-in boyfriend Dan, Chris McDonlad, is going to propose marriage to her that Frank's dark side starts to show. And it's that dark and murderous side that takes control of Frank for the rest of the movie!The crazed and maniacal performance put on by Donald Southerland-as Frank Braswell-is so down right bizarre and stupefying that it has to be seen to be believed! With his eyeballs popping out of his skull and sneering like the cat that just ate the canary Southerland creates one of the most laughable and outrageous villains in motion picture history. Even Amy Irving as Karen, as good an actress as she is, has trouble keeping a straight face when she's confronted by her severely mentally unbalanced dad in her scenes with him in the film. You soon start to wonder just who was on the parole board that deemed Frank fit to be allowed to live in a civilized society? The Three Stooges? Since even when he was supposed to be normal, early in the movie, Frank showed obvious signs of mental instability that even a freshman collage psychology student could have easily picked up!***SPOILERS*** We as well as Karen are made to think by Frank opening up his troubled and tortured heart, as well as big mouth, that all that he was accused of and convicted for was a plot hatched by the local D.A Gideon Lee, Theodore Bikel, to frame him. This line of BS on Frank's part also for a time convinced his daughter Karen, who's testimony put him behind bars, that she-being 12 year old and very impressionable-was brainwashed by D.A Lee to finger her dad in her moms murder. Even though Frank told her that momma, being dead drunk at the time, fell down a flight of stairs and broke her neck when she missed kicking him in his vital organs and lost her balance! The truth of what Frank did as it later came out, in Karen's repressed memory, was far worse then even what she D.A Lee and Frank's good friend Sharrif Calhoun, who always maintained that Frank was innocent, could have imagined or dreamed up in their wildest and darkest fantasies!
judithw100
Likewise for me, it's been a while since I've seen this movie, however, I remember it distinctly because of its stars. I would recommend it for the following reason. If you have visited the area of Page, Arizona, and Lake Powell it's quite a kick to see this movie placed in that locale. Marvelous chases through the mysterious sandstone passages and on the water. Sometimes the location can be as much of a drawing point as the plot and actors. I've seen many otherwise mediocre things that have been filmed in a particular city or other location that I'm familiar with. London is among my favorites. Interesting twists of plot and getting three great names like Amy Irving, Donald Sutherland and Graham Greene is quite a coup. It's good viewing for a chilly night with nothing better to do.
David Vanholsbeeck
I saw this film quite a while ago and really don't remember much of the story, which says quite something. I think it was about a father (Sutherland) who threatens his daughter and it was supposed to be a thriller. Sutherland has played a lot of these characters, but it's a shame he always ends up in ordinary, unremarkable films such as this one. It's not good, it's not bad, it's as mediocre as it gets. 5/10
