A legal thriller where the evidence is as sharp as the killer's blade
In short: In the 1985 neo-noir Jagged Edge, a high-profile lawyer defends a man accused of a brutal double murder. As she falls for her client, anonymous notes and a vintage typewriter suggest a deeper, more sinister game. The truth remains hidden until the final, violent confrontation reveals a chilling deception.
Directed by Richard Marquand, Jagged Edge follows Teddy Barnes, a former prosecutor who reluctantly returns to criminal law to defend Jack Forrester, a socialite accused of murdering his wife and maid. The prosecution, led by Barnes's former boss Thomas Krasny, relies on circumstantial evidence. Tensions rise as Barnes discovers Krasny has a history of suppressing exculpatory evidence, a practice that previously led to the wrongful imprisonment of Henry Styles.
The film’s central mystery hinges on anonymous letters sent to Barnes, which are traced to a 1942 Corona typewriter. While Barnes successfully discredits the prosecution's witnesses and secures an acquittal, her victory is short-lived. Upon discovering the same typewriter in Forrester's closet, she realizes she has been manipulated. The climax features a home invasion where Barnes, anticipating the killer, uses a hidden handgun to shoot Forrester, who is unmasked as the masked intruder.
Critical reception was polarized. While Roger Ebert praised the film's suspense, calling it supremely effective, and Variety lauded its hardboiled craft, others like Rita Kempley dismissed it as commercially packaged abuse. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing $40.5 million in the United States and Canada. Robert Loggia, who played private investigator Sam Ransom, earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The production history is marked by behind-the-scenes friction. Producer Martin Ransohoff originally envisioned the film as a vehicle for Jane Fonda, and later clashed with Glenn Close. Attempts to produce a sequel, Jagged Edge II, stalled due to leadership changes at Columbia Pictures and casting disputes. Ransohoff eventually repurposed his sequel script into the 1989 film Physical Evidence, while the original story was later adapted into the 2001 Hindi film Kasoor.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Jagged Edge (film)
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