In the late 1950s, British police officer Tony Aaron resigns from the force after sleeping with Hazel, wife of the man whose house he was supposed to guard. In his new job as a fake private investigator, he helps couples get divorces by photographing Hazel having "affairs" with the husband. When she is murdered during a job, Tony begins having an affair with the dead man's mistress, Angeline, while trying to prove his innocence.
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This British mystery film starred Liam Neeson and Laura San Giacomo (Pretty Woman) in an early the 1990s. While the film is set in Brighton, England in the late 1950s, the film has a startling mystery to solve as to who killed a famed art collector and the private detective's wife. I was stunned by the ending of the film itself. While the film steers the audience to one direction, the absolute truth wins in the end. I have to say that the film haunts you long after you watch it. Laura San Giacomo is an under-appreciated actress who wasn't utilized much as should have been. When she is on screen, she is captivating even in the end. Liam Neeson also does a fabulous job in this role as the private detective accused of murder. You should just have to be surprised!
Under Suspicion seems OK until the end, that's when they break with a film making (or indeed story telling) tradition and screw with the viewer in order to create a twist.A twist that you don't see coming, not because there isn't evidence for it, not because it's not obvious, but because of the audiences POV in the film.While the twist is for this reason unexpected it also loses the audiences trust, they have been lied to and cheated. This also has the effect of making the ending an unhappy one.Before the ending it's enjoyable enough although we are asked to swallow some rather unlikely things including possibly the closest life and death 'save' in movie history. (not to mention a justice system that seems extremely speedy)There would also seem to be a plot hole in that an extremely valuable and lucrative piece of evidence (possibly the reason for the crime) is seemingly sacrificed to save someone when no doubt other evidence could have proved effective.Another hole is Angeline seeing both sides of a building while seeing fine detail far away in the dark.
A bit of a confusing start of this perfect whodunit is the only bad thing about this film.To start with the script, it´s brilliant. It is credible, well written,has clues that makes it worth watching over and over again (even without the surprises that you encounter the first time you watch it). I like the fact that this is not a Hollywood production. I seriously do not think that this script would have made it to production without some changes if it was made in hollywood.Then the acting. Liam Neeson puts on a splendid performance, complex acting with certain subtle things that I did not notice the first viewing, which made sense while watching it again. His best film IMO (knowing that a lot of people thinks that "Schindler´s list" is better). I do not recognize the rest of the actors, but no one did bad.Grade: 9 out of 10So if you like suspense whodunit, this is a must see.
Since this movie is a crime thriller, I don't want to spoil your fun by revealing any facts.I think Liam Neeson is very charismatic actor and he's done some great movies and I'd like to consider this to be well made and acted as well. Sometimes Neeson just ends up in the wrong movies. Dark Man for instance would've been terrible if it hadn't been saved by Neeson's melancholic and anguished performance. But this film is not a failure. In the movies he so commonly portrays a man who's weak and strong. Good and bad. It's somehow so human. You can feel that same thing in this particular movie too.English atmosphere always makes films look more intelligent if compared to those made in Hollywood. ;) Maybe it's largely due to a fact that what foreign films lack in production costs they gain in realism. And realism is always a good thing.I must confess that at least I got thoroughly fooled by this movie. I didn't realize the plot until it was revealed to me because not in any point of the film I ever even considered that as a one possible scenario. Man, I felt dumb but in some way I also felt betrayed since I genuinely felt sympathy for the wrong person. I just kept on waiting for the bad guy to show up when it had been there all along. ;)Check this out. I found it very clever and full of good actors.