High Crimes

Claire Kubik, a successful attorney, lives in Marin County, California, with her husband, Tom. During a Christmas outing in San Francisco, Tom is arrested by the FBI and charged with the 1988 murders of nine unarmed civilians in a Salvadoran village. Claire discovers that Tom's real name is Ronald Chapman and that he had served in a covert military operation as a Marine before going into hiding.

Tom admits to being present at the scene but denies involvement in the killings, alleging that he is being scapegoated to protect Major James Hernandez, now a high-ranking adjutant to Brigadier General Bill Marks. Claire joins Tom's defense, initially with the assistance of First Lieutenant Terence Embry, a young military lawyer. Concerned by his inexperience, she enlists Charlie Grimes, a disillusioned former military attorney.

As the trial progresses, Claire and Charlie uncover inconsistencies and evidence of a cover-up. Three of the five witnesses against Tom have died under suspicious circumstances. A witness from the Salvadoran village identifies Hernandez as the perpetrator of a bombing linked to the massacre. Claire obtains classified medical records indicating that Hernandez sustained injuries consistent with that incident. She uses this information to pressure Marks, and the Department of Defense has the case dismissed, citing national security concerns.

Charlie later uncovers testimony implicating Tom as the true perpetrator. A surviving witness describes distinctive behaviors—such as ambidextrous shooting—that match Tom's traits. Claire confronts Tom, and a violent struggle ensues. During the confrontation, the Salvadoran witness intervenes and shoots Tom. Claire and Charlie later establish a law firm together.

• Ashley Judd as Claire Kubik
• Morgan Freeman as Charlie Grimes
• Jim Caviezel as Tom Kubik/Ron Chapman
• Amanda Peet as Jackie Grimaldi
• Adam Scott as First Lieutenant Terence Embry
• Bruce Davison as Brigadier General Bill Marks
• Tom Bower as Special Agent Mullins
• Michael Gaston as Major Lucas Waldron
• Jude Ciccolella as Colonel Farrell
• Juan Carlos Hernández as Major James Hernandez
• Michael Shannon as Troy Abbott
• Emilio Rivera as Salvadoran Man
• John Billingsley as Lie Detector Coach
• Dendrie Taylor as Lola
• Paula Jai Parker as Gracie
• Dawn Hudson as Lieutenant Colonel LaPierre
• Julie Remala as Lisa Stenstrom

On Rotten Tomatoes, High Crimes holds a rating of 31%, based on 133 reviews, indicating a generally negative response from critics. The site's consensus reads, "A muddled brain teaser, High Crimes is more pretentious than thrilling."^[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, signifying "mixed or average reviews."^[3]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars, praising the way it maintains ambiguity and engages the viewer in competing narratives. He noted that the film “works to keep us involved and make us care” and complimented Carl Franklin’s use of flashbacks to present conflicting perspectives. While acknowledging the complexity of the plot, Ebert concluded that “that's what the movie promises and that's what the movie delivers.”^[4] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle acknowledged the film’s flaws but found it generally effective, stating that it “manages to keep its audience either angry or jumpy from start to finish.” Though he criticized the lack of a standout courtroom scene, he felt the film recovered well for “the big finish.”^[5] Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post found the film enjoyable despite its predictability. He described it as “satisfying” for its suspense and cast chemistry, noting that “watching Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, two compelling performers, is almost as much fun as they seem to be having together.”^[6]

A. O. Scott of The New York Times found the film bolstered by the strength of its leads, writing that “Judd and Freeman make a muddled genre exercise seem a lot better than it is.” He felt Franklin's direction was “uninspired,” and that the final plot twist rendered the preceding events incoherent. Despite his reservations, he praised the cast's performances.^[7] Robert Koehler of Variety was more critical, describing the film as “utterly conventional.” He criticized Judd’s performance as overly serious and faulted the screenplay for producing “a rabbit’s warren full of holes in an almost laughably complex plot.” He also expressed disappointment in Franklin’s direction, calling it visibly uninspired.^[8]

Morgan Freeman received a nomination for Best Actor at the 2002 BET Awards and for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the 34th NAACP Image Awards.

High Crimes was released on Region 1 DVD by 20th Century Home Entertainment on August 27, 2002. The disc features an anamorphic widescreen widescreen presentation (2.35:1 aspect ratio), audio tracks in English, Spanish, and French, and subtitles in English and Spanish. Bonus materials include a director's commentary by Carl Franklin and six featurettes detailing the making of the film.

A Blu-ray edition was subsequently released on September 1, 2009. This version offers 1080p video resolution, a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and audio in French Dolby Digital 5.1, along with Spanish subtitles. The Blu-ray includes the film's theatrical trailer as a special feature.^[9]