Double Jeopardy

You can just about visualise the pitch to the studio as the film unfolds in front of you. “Hey, I saw on that David E Kelley show the other night that there’s this thing in US law called double jeopardy, where you can’t get charged with the same crime twice. So what if there was this woman who killed her husband, but then…� The pitch goes on, and finally climaxes with “…and best of all, we could get Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones to star in it, so it’ll be a hit anyway!�

While it’s hard not to experience flashbacks to the studio-exec discussions fictionalised in The Player, the unashamedly audience-pleasing Double Jeopardy does actually have a few things going for it. For a start, it was directed by Bruce Beresford, the expatriate Australian who brought us classics like Don’s Party, Breaker Morant and Puberty Blues decades ago, and who in more recent years has found acclaim and Hollywood A-list status with movies like Driving Miss Daisy and Black Robe. The best thing about Beresford is that he’s just as comfortable directing a no-nonsense genre picture like Her Alibi as he is with more intricate stuff like Tender Mercies. The very definition of a craftsman in technical terms and widely admired by actors as an insightful director of drama, Beresford brings those qualities along with him when he’s doing something that’s more “for the masses� - and those films generally rise above the pack simply for that reason.

The story that makes up Double Jeopardy is convoluted. And that’s actually an understatement - there are more holes in this plot than you’ll find in your average piece of surgical gauze, and indeed, part of the fun is the simple fact that the script completely ignores its blatant faults and powers along regardless with a big goofy grin on its face, cockily confident that it’s fooling you so hard you won’t notice that your suspension of disbelief has turned into an achievement that rivals the Golden Gate Bridge’s suspension of steel.

As for the story itself… well, we can’t tell you much. To do so would spoil the film for those who’ve not seen it - and when we say “spoil�, we’re serious. This is a script where all the fun is derived from the simple fact that you have no idea what’s going to happen next (let’s ignore, for a moment, that a seasoned moviegoer will be able to pick what’s next with their eyes closed for much of the running time). And of course, this type of film warrants a “no spoilers� rule that overrides all else. So don’t read the back cover of the DVD package. Don’t watch those special features (more on that in a moment). And don’t worry about spoilers when we simply say that Double Jeopardy is a story of a happily married woman (Judd), her best friend (Annabeth Gish), her young son, a boat trip, a tragedy, and a subsequent unfolding nightmare. It’s probably safe to say that Tommy Lee Jones plays (surprise, surprise) a member of The Authorities, and does it… well, pretty much the same as he did it in The Fugitive and US Marshals. And beyond that… well, you’re going to either have to head for the IMDB or watch the movie. Trust us, it’s much more fun that way.

Double Jeopardy appears to be an attempt by writers David Weisberg and Douglas S Cook (whose previous effort was the glossy prison hyperbole-fest The Rock) to pay tribute to the Hitchcock style of movie, loaded as it is with intrigue, deception and plot twists. And Beresford appears to have been happy to go with that, shooting in an “old Hollywood� style that’s a refreshing change from the frenetic camerawork and fast-cut editing of recent “intrigue� movies. This script ain’t rocket science, but Beresford elicits convincing performances from his actors regardless - especially Ashley Judd, who proves to be very skilled at portraying emotional distress and motherly bond (though she’s slightly less good at being an action heroine, but that’s not important right now). The only way this movie was going to work was with a solid dose of pace, and Beresford provides that to perfection - but without resorting to the currently fashionable hyperrealism that’s nearly written off several recent films in this genre.

Ultimately, it’s a satisfying watch that, like a Stephen King novel, doesn’t tax the brain one teensy bit - indeed, to paraphrase this reviewer’s fourth-grade English teacher (!), it’s “a rattling good watch� - one that’s done with style, good performances and more than a hint of a nod to the more wise-eyed days of Hollywood. The cynical, however, should either avoid this one completely, or develop a drinking game based around the plot twists.

Paramount’s PAL releases so far have been remarkable in terms of video quality, often outdoing their NTSC counterparts in all departments. Double Jeopardy is another example of this, and the quality is evident right from the opening Paramount logo, which is as bright, clear and vibrant as the movie it precedes. This is a superb transfer, presented at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and 16:9 enhanced. Detail throughout is crisp and defined - occasionally almost too much so, with the occasional dose of aliasing appearing in crowded scenes. There’s also a fair amount of film artefacts visible here throughout, especially in scenes on the boat early in the movie; these appear to be flaws in the original negative. But despite those minor quibbles, this is a beautifully done high-resolution transfer that reminds the viewer just how good modern film can look on video when the transfer is done correctly.

Cinematographer Peter James (also an Australian, and a frequent collaborator of Beresford’s) shot Double Jeopardy with Panavision’s anamorphic lenses, and this surprisingly seems to lead to some very strange image distortion at times that appears to be caused by the lenses themselves - occasionally, people in the frame seem unnaturally vertically stretched, and in one jail scene the background noticeably “morphs� as the focus changes from close-up to medium shot. It can only be assumed that this was intentional - but it is, however, a little unusual to see.

There’s nothing more boring than talking about a flawless audio track on a DVD, and Double Jeopardy has one. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is perfectly lively and active given the nature of the film, and there are no problems with it to be found at all. Being a largely dialogue-based film, there’s not a lot here to show off your big-budget mega-system with, but everything in the mix is placed intelligently across the surround stage and the overall effect is convincing.

Soundtracks are also provided in French, Italian and Spanish, with only the dialogue to distinguish them in terms of quality, everything else being quite literally identical.

While the DVD is kind enough to drop us, Universal-style, into the “Special Features� menu at the end of the movie, there’s really not much here.

Behind-The-Scenes Featurette: Another run-of-the-mill EPK-style promo featurette designed for media use, this gives away just about all of the plot and should NOT be viewed if you haven’t seen the film. There’s a fragment or two of interesting information and on-set footage, but nothing that makes this worth more than a casual, nothing-better-to-do-after-the-movie watch. Video quality (in 4:3 full-frame) is perfectly fine.

Trailer: The theatrical trailer gives away even more of the plot of Double Jeopardy than the featurette. One again, don’t watch this before you’ve seen the movie.

Double Jeopardy puts a talented director and cast in front of a rather silly script and invites them to have fun with it. They do, luckily, and that gives this particular genre thriller a slight edge over other recent efforts.

Paramount’s DVD is very nearly a bare-bones effort, but the magnificent image quality of the feature makes this well worth buying if you like the movie, and certainly worth a rent if you’re in the mood for a bit of no-brainer fun.