Synopsis:

A Supreme Court Justice takes his own life. A woman is found dead, with her throat-slashed open. A homeless Vietnam Veteran is accused of her murder. Kathleen Riley is the overworked PD assigned to defend the accused. Her resolve shall we say is a bit jaded as she's in dire need of a vacation and her client knocked the silly out of her on their first meeting. Coupled with the fact that the judge seems determined to throw her defense in the toilet, Let's just say that Kathleen's seen better days and much better cases. This case however is a lot different from the cases she's done before. Every witness she could call ends up murdered and her client, who's given to violent bursts of rage, is also deaf and dumb. With the help of an unsuspecting ally, the tissue of deception, lies and murder are slowly peeled away to expose the heart of the matter that involves far more than those obviously implicated. Suspect is a slow moving legal thriller with some real stingers that help to propel the film. One a table of 1-10 for legal thriller "must see" films, this is probably a 1. But don't let that stop you. It's just engaging enough to keep your interest and the climax is very gripping indeed.

Audio/Video:

The audio is presented in a DD2.0 platform that works adequately for the feature. The dialogue is always clear and easily understood and the effects are minimal so as not to overpower the limited soundstage. A Director's Commentary is included featuring Peter Yates. In it, he identifies his experiences in working with Mantegna, Cher and Quaid and all the nuances that went into making this film. Not terribly interesting, his commentary track is punctuated with great periods of silence and very few anecdotal bits regarding the making of the film. The video is presented in both widescreen and full frame platforms. The widescreen and full frame images are identical in terms of clarity and overall softness in the picture's presentation. The colors were well saturated, and the fleshtones were actual. The transfer however is marred by flecks of white throughout the picture as well as pixellation and edge enhancement. While the film is identified as being anamorphically enhanced, I could not verify that enhancement.

Extras:

The extras are the usual production notes and talent files. A theatrical trailer is included as well.

Overall:

Suspect is a decent film that's worth a look-see. The production values however on the disc are pretty poor and should have been much higher. It's better than the VHS version of the film but not by much. I enjoyed the movie and will watch it again. I just wish Columbia Tri-star had paid more attention to the quality of the transfer than they did.