This action thriller opens on the life of a young wife and mother Elizabeth (Libby) Parsons played by Ashley Judd, who has what seems to be an idyllic lifestyle, with a successful husband Nick Parsons, a lovely home and cute son Mattie. However very early on in the film we get the drift that all is not well in paradise when some of Nick's business colleagues start trying to discuss financial problems with him during a party at their home which he skilfully avoids.
Libby isn't really aware of any of this and happily goes off with Nick on an overnight sailing trip that he has arranged, leaving her son with her good friend Angie. However after an idyllic trip Libby wakes up to find blood all over her clothes and the cabin with no sign of Nick. Libby follows the trail of blood to the top deck where she also finds a knife which she unfortunately picks up just as the coast guard arrive.
Libby tells them what she knows which is not much, and although they set up quite an extensive search no trace of Nick is found. When the ensuing investigation concludes Nick is officially declared dead with Libby as the main suspect. She is formally charged with Nick's murder and arrested. It all looks really bad as Nick took out two life assurances for Libby 4 months earlier totalling 2 million dollars. Also on Nick's death the embezzlement charges that were being brought against him are dropped and the only person to profit from all this is Libby. This together with the incriminating phone call made by Nick from the boat saying he has been stabbed before the call is cut off suddenly ensures that things don't go well for Libby in Court and she is found guilty.
Libby
arranges for Mattie to be taken care of by Angie and after an emotional farewell with her son she becomes an inmate of the Department of Corrections and starts to get used to the regime of being a prison inmate.
Angie keeps up her promise to visit with Mattie at first but then Libby suddenly finds she can't contact Angie at all and becomes very distressed. A couple of her fellow inmates give her a nudge in the right direction on how to get information on a person's whereabouts and Libby is given a shock when she not only finds Angie and Mattie have now moved to San Francisco, but through a slip of Mattie's realises her 'dead' husband Nick is alive and well and living there with Angie as well.
Realising the full truth of the double cross that's been done to her Libby slowly stews in a rage, with her helpful inmates again giving her useful pointers on what should be her next course of action. They point out that even if Libby tracks her husband and Angie down again she can't do any thing while she's still inside. Libby is advised to just do her time and when she gets out she can go after her husband with impunity as she has already been convicted of his murder and through the laws of double jeopardy she cannot be tried for the same crime again. Libby takes this advice on board and bides her time in training and building up her strength. She gets through the parole board after being six years inside and once free starts looking for leads to her husband and son.
Her first port of call however is to meet her parole officer, the gruff Travis Layman played by Tommy Lee Jones. Layman lays down the law on Libby's first day and tells her she will be back in jail if she breaks any rules.
However Libby, determined to find her son and get her revenge on Nick and Angie, will let nothing stop her and when the headmistress of the school where Angie used to work refuses to give Libby her forwarding address, Libby breaks into the school at night and gets Angie's details for herself. Unfortunately the police turn up and although she makes a run for it she is caught and Layman is called in to collect her.
On the ferry back home however when Layman goes back up top for a coffee, Libby who is handcuffed to his car tries to break the cuffs and winds catapulting herself, the car, and Layman into the river where Layman desperately tries to release her from the cuffs before she drowns. They do eventually break free of the car and after a tussle Libby knocks Layman out with the butt of a gun and escapes.
The rest of the movie is then a two fold chase with Libby blazing a trail to her son and Nick, with Layman hot on her heels in a quest to recapture Libby and save his professional reputation.
Will Libby find Nick and get her revenge?
Will she be reunited with her son and will he remember her after all this time?
Will Layman catch up to Libby before she can prove her innocence?
These are the themes that run continually through the film and which help to keep up the momentum and make it exciting viewing. At no point in this film did I feel it was dragging or getting a bit boring.
This film really kept me on the edge of my seat and the direction by Bruce Bereford was very well done. The movement from what's was going on with Libby to what's happening with Layman helped keep the suspense going as it was handled so well. I was really rooting for Libby to get to Nick and see him get his just desserts before layman caught up with her.
Also the teaming up of Ashley Judd and Tommy lee Jones definitely worked well. Ashley Judd is convincing as the well to do housewife who appears quite vulnerable and gentle to begin with but then has to learn to get tougher to survive being imprisoned and betrayed by those closest to her, and being separated from her son.
Tommy Lee Jones was, as always, great as the gruff and stern but well meaning parole officer. I found that the part he played here was very similar to that of the Marshal Samuel Gerard role he played in The Fugitive where he's chasing after the person he thinks is the criminal, but along the way comes to realise that maybe after all they ARE innocent and telling the truth.
The supporting cast also did very well and all the characters were believable.
Overall I would recommend this film to anyone that's looking for a highly entertaining action thriller which keeps you engaged with the characters and on the edge of your seat.
This was the Wide Screen Selection - Region 2 edition
Cast
Travis - Tommy Lee Jones
Libby - Ashley Judd
Nick - Bruce Greenwood
Angie - Annabeth Gish
Director - Bruce Bereford
Music - Normand Corbeil
Produced by Leonard Goldberg
Written by David Weisberg and Douglass Cook
Special Features
Behind the scene Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Audio Options - Cesky, Deutsch, English, Magyar
Subtitles - Available for the hearing impaired and in a variety of European and worldwide languages
Available on Amazon for £4.97 plus p&p or Amazon Marketplace for £2.79 plus p&p
Available on Play.com for £6.99
![Double Jeopardy [DVD] [1999]](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/icons/no_pic_generic_S1.gif){kind=icon}
![Double Jeopardy - Dvd [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78545905.jpg)
by (2%):
11.02.2008 12:58
Sorry for the H, but if this is to be a full DVD review, I would prefer to see a review of the extras in similar detail to the way you've reviewed the film, rather than just a list of them.
11.09.2007 00:07
Quality review.
06.09.2007 15:13
Awesome review, Ben x