Review of Double Jeopardy (1999) by Chris W — 12 Aug 2011

This movie is a thriller about a woman convicted (wrongly) of murdering her husband. She gets a lengthy prisons sentence but gets out early on good behavior. When she discovers that not only was she (correctly) set up, but that the person who did it was her husband, she sets out for revenge, planning to exploit the double jeopardy loop hole which says a person cannot be convicted for the same crime twice.

Double jeopardy is a real thing, but the film plays fast and loose with it, and the way it is demonstrated here isn't actually how it works. That aside, this is a very entertaining film, despite being kinda silly and on the nose. The motivations for various things (aside from the revenge) aren't really well constructed, and the writing just feels kinda 'bare minimum', but the performances are passable, and the audience does feel satisfaction in seeing Ashley Judd's Libby run around on her quest for revenge.

This film comes off to me as the cinematic equivalent of an airport novel. I mean that as mostly a compliment, even if I don't completely recommend the film as something worth watching very often. Had this been better scripted, and maybe had a bit tighter direction, then it might hold up as more than rainy day popcorn fare.