Hollywood is persistently attempting to revive the 90s genre of sensual thrillers, with its latest endeavour being a television adaptation of the Harrison Ford and Greta Scaachi thriller, Presumed Innocent (available through Apple TV+ from Wednesday). Expectedly, this creation is sleek but lacks depth and significant sexual tension, traits you would anticipate from David E Kelley, renowned for his middle-of-the-road blockbusters, such as Big Little Lies and Ally McBeal.
Working alongside celebrated producer JJ Abrams, Kelley has constructed a talented cast. Jake Gyllenhaal is the first among them, taking over from Harrison Ford as the disreputable Rusty Sabich, a public prosecutor from Chicago. Gyllenhaal comes off the back of a laughable revamp of the action film Roadhouse on Prime Video, where he was seen squaring up to Conor McGregor. In Presumed Innocent, Gyllenhaal’s adversary is another Irish talent, Ruth Negga, best known for her 2016 Oscar-nominated performance in Loving, marking her television return.
Negga’s character, Barbara, is a wife enduring the behaviour of the repugnant Rusty, even after he confessed to an affair with a coworker. Barbara remains with him for their two teenage kids. However, things take a turn when his ex-lover and former coworker, Carolyn, was found brutally murdered. The affair isn’t quite over, as Rusty had previously suggested and accords suspicion particularly when it reveals that Carolyn (played by Renate Reinsve) was pregnant. Thus, it leads to speculation: did Rusty murder Carolyn to protect his marriage?
Rusty’s disgusting rival at the prosecutor’s office, Tommy Molto, played by Peter Sarsgaard, suspects this. Sarsgaard’s representation appears to draw inspiration from John Malkovich’s role in In the Line of Fire. Also, Gyllenhaal makes constant effort to differentiate his portrayal from Harrison Ford’s by constantly seeming bewildered on-screen. Beyond him, Negga exhibits strong frustration, although it remains unclear whether this is her character’s trait or her irritation with the script.
The former version of Presumed Innocent was a gratifying indulgence, its allure amplified by Ford’s charismatic portrayal of a malevolent Han Solo. However, this reinterpretation drags out the tempo and delves deeper into Rusty’s life. It offers much more insight into his familial life, his children, and his profession—albeit, sacrificing the extreme ludicrousness that fuelled the original film from the 90s. This version fails to impress as an erotic thriller, seemingly devoid of excitement. As an esteemed television series, Presumably Innocent is culpable of numbing its viewers with dullness.