Guilty Conscience (film)
Encyclopedia
Guilty Conscience is a 1985 American
TV movie, produced by CBS Entertainment
, directed by David Greene, starring Anthony Hopkins
as criminal defense attorney
Arthur Jamison. The film is a drama
, but also a mystery
, with as many twists and turns as Arthur's own conniving mind.
) suggest divorce, which could require that he pay a large sum in alimony. His imagination works overtime for the duration of the film as he arranges and rearranges scheme after scheme to kill Louise. As a defense attorney, he is familiar with both the courts and the minds of criminals. Deep in his own imagination, he bounces ideas off of himself (a double played by Donegan Smith), as he plays each murder, or the subsequent trial, through in his mind, searching for problems, loopholes, and the elusive watertight alibi.
Eventually his mistress Jackie Willis (Swoosie Kurtz
) puts two and two together and confronts Louise in secret. They realize the gravity of the situation and immediately put together their own scheme to do away with him and make it look like suicide. Arthur, albeit at gunpoint, takes control of the situation, pointing out the flaws in the plan, poking holes in what was supposed to be a foolproof scheme. It turns out he had been cheating on Jackie, and while Louise was trying to murder him, he was being missed by a date, so suicide was out of the question.
Arthur was recording the whole situation to cassette. In exchange for not having to pay alimony, he will not bring the matter to court with the cassette as evidence. He escapes unscathed.
Louise is hysterical, her plan was supposed to work! She chases him with the gun, a brief struggle ensues, and she is shot dead. This is what Arthur wanted, sort of, but it was an accident. However, all evidence points to him now. The cassette was only a bluff, there really is no evidence on his side. He shot his wife; if Jackie, the only witness, testified it was only an accident, what jury would possibly believe it? Case closed. There is no hope for Arthur now.
Then he stops imagining things, and Louise arrives home, shoots him dead, and phones Jackie to inform her that the deed is done.
Video Release:
Format: DVD
Publisher: Digiview Productions
Catalog Reference Number: MV5-A
Video Released: 2004
NTSC; Encoded for ALL regions
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV movie, produced by CBS Entertainment
CBS Productions
CBS Productions is the production arm of the CBS television network now a part of CBS Corporation, formed in 1952 to produce shows in-house, instead of relying solely on outside productions. Its first production was CBS Television Workshop, a drama anthology series...
, directed by David Greene, starring Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as criminal defense attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Arthur Jamison. The film is a drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, but also a mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
, with as many twists and turns as Arthur's own conniving mind.
Plot
Arthur's marital difficulties with his wife Louise (Blythe DannerBlythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
) suggest divorce, which could require that he pay a large sum in alimony. His imagination works overtime for the duration of the film as he arranges and rearranges scheme after scheme to kill Louise. As a defense attorney, he is familiar with both the courts and the minds of criminals. Deep in his own imagination, he bounces ideas off of himself (a double played by Donegan Smith), as he plays each murder, or the subsequent trial, through in his mind, searching for problems, loopholes, and the elusive watertight alibi.
Eventually his mistress Jackie Willis (Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters...
) puts two and two together and confronts Louise in secret. They realize the gravity of the situation and immediately put together their own scheme to do away with him and make it look like suicide. Arthur, albeit at gunpoint, takes control of the situation, pointing out the flaws in the plan, poking holes in what was supposed to be a foolproof scheme. It turns out he had been cheating on Jackie, and while Louise was trying to murder him, he was being missed by a date, so suicide was out of the question.
Arthur was recording the whole situation to cassette. In exchange for not having to pay alimony, he will not bring the matter to court with the cassette as evidence. He escapes unscathed.
Louise is hysterical, her plan was supposed to work! She chases him with the gun, a brief struggle ensues, and she is shot dead. This is what Arthur wanted, sort of, but it was an accident. However, all evidence points to him now. The cassette was only a bluff, there really is no evidence on his side. He shot his wife; if Jackie, the only witness, testified it was only an accident, what jury would possibly believe it? Case closed. There is no hope for Arthur now.
Then he stops imagining things, and Louise arrives home, shoots him dead, and phones Jackie to inform her that the deed is done.
Video Release:
Format: DVD
Publisher: Digiview Productions
Catalog Reference Number: MV5-A
Video Released: 2004
NTSC; Encoded for ALL regions