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Double Jeopardy (film)
Encyclopedia
Double Jeopardy is a 1999 thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford
and starring Tommy Lee Jones
and Ashley Judd
. The film is about a woman who is framed for the murder
of her husband.
Nick Parsons (Bruce Greenwood
) and his wife Elizabeth (Ashley Judd
), known as Libby, borrow a friend's yacht and set off sailing for the weekend. After dinner, and a rousing love making session, Libby falls asleep. She wakes to find her husband missing and blood all over her hands, clothes, legs, and the boat's floors. A Coast Guard vessel appears and Libby is spotted holding a bloody knife she found lying on the deck. She is arrested, humiliated in the media, tried, and convicted for the murder of her husband.
Libby asks her best friend, Angela Green (Annabeth Gish
), to look after her 4-year-old son, Matty (Benjamin Weir), for the duration of her prison sentence. On a phone call with Matty from prison, Libby hears a door open in the background, then Matty exclaims "Daddy!" right before the line goes dead.
Libby realizes that Nick possibly faked his death and framed her, leaving their son as the sole beneficiary of his life insurance
policy, as people convicted for murder are not allowed to collect insurance of their victims. She attempts (unsuccessfully) to get investigative help. She is then told by a fellow inmate that if she were to get parole
for good behavior, she could kill Nick without consequences due to the double jeopardy
clause in the Fifth Amendment.
Libby is paroled after six years and begins searching for Nick and Matty while living in a halfway house
under the supervision of parole officer Travis Lehman (Tommy Lee Jones
). Libby violates her curfew and is caught breaking into the school on Whidbey Island to try to get Angela's records, but manages to escape from Travis and continue her search.
After finding out Angela has recently died in Colorado
, she recognizes a piece of art in a newspaper photo. Tracing it through a dealer's database leads her to New Orleans where she finds Nick living under another assumed name, Jonathan Devereaux.
Libby confronts him after making a winning bid of $10,000 on him at a bachelor's auction. She demands he return Matty in exchange for her silence about his real identity. Nick agrees to bring Matty to a meeting in a cemetery. But he uses a decoy boy to distract Libby, knocks her unconscious, and locks her in a casket inside a mausoleum
.
Using a .38 caliber handgun she had snatched from Travis, Libby manages to shoot the hinges to the lid of the casket and escape by throwing a flower vase through a stained glass window.
While tracking Libby in New Orleans, Travis himself has now become suspicious of Nick's death and begins to believe Libby due to the clues uncovered in his search. He finds a picture for a different Nicholas Parsons when searching the Washington State DMV
records to prove his suspicions. After seemingly capturing Libby later in the city, the two actually team up, since Travis suspected there might be more than one person with that name in the DMV records, and confirmed it with the picture from the third applicant. Travis visits Nick in his office under the pretense of asking for money to keep his identity secret. He records a remark by Nick that he had murdered his wife, the only witness to his true past. Libby enters, holding Nick at gunpoint. Nick is given a choice of surrendering to the authorities or getting shot by his vengeful ex-wife, who he believes would go free for this deed because of double jeopardy.
Nick responds with violence. In the ensuing melee, Nick pulls out a hidden gun, shoots Travis and fires away at Libby. Travis manages to bring Nick down before he can shoot Libby. Nick gets the upper hand, but before he can kill the wounded parole officer, Libby shoots him dead.
Travis promises to help Libby get fully pardoned and travel to Matty's boarding school in Georgia
, where he is playing soccer. Matty (Spencer Treat Clark
), now eleven years old, recognizes his mother and they embrace.
criticized the movie for misrepresenting the legal doctrine of double jeopardy
, a constitutional right in the United States
granted by the Fifth Amendment
. "There are two separate incidents," Dershowitz said. "She was falsely accused the first time. And maybe she can sue for that or get some credit. But then she committed an entirely separate or at least planned to commit an entirely separate crime the second time. And there's just no defense of double jeopardy for doing it the second time."
as its "consensus" states "A talented cast fails to save this unremarkable thriller." Roger Ebert
gives the film two and a half stars out of four, indicating a lukewarm reception.
However, some critics reacted to this film with positive reviews, with Leonard Maltin
giving the film 3 out of 4 stars and calling it "slick entertainment". Mick LaSalle
from the San Francisco Chronicle
wrote that the film is a "well-acted diversion, directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy
) with an intelligent grasp of the moment-to-moment emotion". For her performance in Double Jeopardy, Ashley Judd won the 2000 Favorite Actress of Blockbuster Entertainment Award.
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 40-year career.-Early life:...
and starring Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
and Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
. The film is about a woman who is framed for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of her husband.
Plot
Wealthy residents of Whidbey IslandWhidbey Island
Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
Nick Parsons (Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood is a Canadian actor and musician. He is generally known for his roles as U.S. presidents in Thirteen Days and National Treasure: Book of Secrets and for his role as Captain Christopher Pike in the 2009 Star Trek film...
) and his wife Elizabeth (Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
), known as Libby, borrow a friend's yacht and set off sailing for the weekend. After dinner, and a rousing love making session, Libby falls asleep. She wakes to find her husband missing and blood all over her hands, clothes, legs, and the boat's floors. A Coast Guard vessel appears and Libby is spotted holding a bloody knife she found lying on the deck. She is arrested, humiliated in the media, tried, and convicted for the murder of her husband.
Libby asks her best friend, Angela Green (Annabeth Gish
Annabeth Gish
Annabeth Gish is an American actress known for starring roles in Shag, Mystic Pizza and Double Jeopardy. She is best known for her roles as Special Agent Monica Reyes on The X-Files, Elizabeth Bartlet Westin on The West Wing and as Eileen Caffee on the Showtime drama Brotherhood.-Personal...
), to look after her 4-year-old son, Matty (Benjamin Weir), for the duration of her prison sentence. On a phone call with Matty from prison, Libby hears a door open in the background, then Matty exclaims "Daddy!" right before the line goes dead.
Libby realizes that Nick possibly faked his death and framed her, leaving their son as the sole beneficiary of his life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
policy, as people convicted for murder are not allowed to collect insurance of their victims. She attempts (unsuccessfully) to get investigative help. She is then told by a fellow inmate that if she were to get parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
for good behavior, she could kill Nick without consequences due to the double jeopardy
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
clause in the Fifth Amendment.
Libby is paroled after six years and begins searching for Nick and Matty while living in a halfway house
Halfway house
The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a...
under the supervision of parole officer Travis Lehman (Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
). Libby violates her curfew and is caught breaking into the school on Whidbey Island to try to get Angela's records, but manages to escape from Travis and continue her search.
After finding out Angela has recently died in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, she recognizes a piece of art in a newspaper photo. Tracing it through a dealer's database leads her to New Orleans where she finds Nick living under another assumed name, Jonathan Devereaux.
Libby confronts him after making a winning bid of $10,000 on him at a bachelor's auction. She demands he return Matty in exchange for her silence about his real identity. Nick agrees to bring Matty to a meeting in a cemetery. But he uses a decoy boy to distract Libby, knocks her unconscious, and locks her in a casket inside a mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
.
Using a .38 caliber handgun she had snatched from Travis, Libby manages to shoot the hinges to the lid of the casket and escape by throwing a flower vase through a stained glass window.
While tracking Libby in New Orleans, Travis himself has now become suspicious of Nick's death and begins to believe Libby due to the clues uncovered in his search. He finds a picture for a different Nicholas Parsons when searching the Washington State DMV
Department of Motor Vehicles
In the United States of America, a Department of Motor Vehicles is a state-level government agency that administers vehicle registration and driver licensing. Similar departments exist in Canada...
records to prove his suspicions. After seemingly capturing Libby later in the city, the two actually team up, since Travis suspected there might be more than one person with that name in the DMV records, and confirmed it with the picture from the third applicant. Travis visits Nick in his office under the pretense of asking for money to keep his identity secret. He records a remark by Nick that he had murdered his wife, the only witness to his true past. Libby enters, holding Nick at gunpoint. Nick is given a choice of surrendering to the authorities or getting shot by his vengeful ex-wife, who he believes would go free for this deed because of double jeopardy.
Nick responds with violence. In the ensuing melee, Nick pulls out a hidden gun, shoots Travis and fires away at Libby. Travis manages to bring Nick down before he can shoot Libby. Nick gets the upper hand, but before he can kill the wounded parole officer, Libby shoots him dead.
Travis promises to help Libby get fully pardoned and travel to Matty's boarding school in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where he is playing soccer. Matty (Spencer Treat Clark
Spencer Treat Clark
Spencer Treat Clark is an American actor who has appeared in several films, including Gladiator, Mystic River, and Unbreakable.-Life and career:...
), now eleven years old, recognizes his mother and they embrace.
Cast
- Tommy Lee JonesTommy Lee JonesTommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
- Travis Lehman - Ashley JuddAshley JuddAshley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
- Elizabeth "Libby" Parsons - Bruce GreenwoodBruce GreenwoodBruce Greenwood is a Canadian actor and musician. He is generally known for his roles as U.S. presidents in Thirteen Days and National Treasure: Book of Secrets and for his role as Captain Christopher Pike in the 2009 Star Trek film...
- Nicholas "Nick" Parsons / Simon Ryder / Jonathan Devereaux - Jay BrazeauJay BrazeauJay Brazeau is a notable Canadian actor and voice actor. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.-Career:His credits include voicing Richard Condie's Oscar-nominated animated short La Salla. He also appeared in two of the first season episodes of Highlander: The Series in 1992...
- Bobby Long - Roger R. Cross - Hotel Manager
- Annabeth GishAnnabeth GishAnnabeth Gish is an American actress known for starring roles in Shag, Mystic Pizza and Double Jeopardy. She is best known for her roles as Special Agent Monica Reyes on The X-Files, Elizabeth Bartlet Westin on The West Wing and as Eileen Caffee on the Showtime drama Brotherhood.-Personal...
- Angela "Angie" Green - Bruce CampbellBruce CampbellBruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
- Bartender at Party - Benjamin Weir - Matty Parsons (age 4)
- Spencer Treat ClarkSpencer Treat ClarkSpencer Treat Clark is an American actor who has appeared in several films, including Gladiator, Mystic River, and Unbreakable.-Life and career:...
- Matty Parsons (age 11) - John MacLaren - Rudy
- Ed Evanko - Warren
Legal accuracy
Harvard Professor Alan DershowitzAlan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
criticized the movie for misrepresenting the legal doctrine of double jeopardy
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
, a constitutional right in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
granted by the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
. "There are two separate incidents," Dershowitz said. "She was falsely accused the first time. And maybe she can sue for that or get some credit. But then she committed an entirely separate or at least planned to commit an entirely separate crime the second time. And there's just no defense of double jeopardy for doing it the second time."
VHS and DVD release
Double Jeopardy was released on VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Video on February 22, 2000. The DVD included a behind-the-scenes featurette and its original theatrical trailer. It is presented in its original 2.35:1 widescreen format.Reception
The film received mixed to generally negative reviews. It is rated 26% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
as its "consensus" states "A talented cast fails to save this unremarkable thriller." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gives the film two and a half stars out of four, indicating a lukewarm reception.
However, some critics reacted to this film with positive reviews, with Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
giving the film 3 out of 4 stars and calling it "slick entertainment". Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
from the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote that the film is a "well-acted diversion, directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 American comedy-drama film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same name. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford, with Morgan Freeman reprising his role as Hoke Colburn and Jessica Tandy playing Miss Daisy...
) with an intelligent grasp of the moment-to-moment emotion". For her performance in Double Jeopardy, Ashley Judd won the 2000 Favorite Actress of Blockbuster Entertainment Award.