I always like Tom Selleck movies. Some are actually very entertaining. This is by far his best dramatic role. I was very impressed how well he played the part of a framed Airline crew chief Jimmie Rainwood. F. Murray Abraham gives a great performance as one of the prison inmates, Virgil Cane, that befriends him. It has all the elements for some good drama, bad cops, drugs, decent and really bad convicts, attractive loving wife, and motive for revenge.David Rasche and Richard Young do a fine job as the crooked detectives that frame him. I have recommended this to many people since many Selleck fans are not even aware of it. Whether you like Selleck or not you will enjoy this film if you like movies like "The Fugitive","US Marshals", and "Shawshank Redemption". It is being released on DVD soon and you can bet I pre-ordered a copy.
Distributor: Mill Creek Entertainment (US)
Tom Selleck will always be known as Magnum P.I. to anyone who grew up watching classic TV shows throughout the 1980's, however this little known film actually showcased a real talent for playing a very different kind of leading role.
The film takes a basic prison drama as the stories middle and adds a character driven beginning and an ending which at times almost borders on an action movie. Tom Selleck plays Jimmie Rainwood, an average ordinary every day guy, wrongly sent to prison by two cops that you will just love to hate and the film follows his characters story as he progresses through his time spent in a harsh prison trying to adjust to a very less than average life style. Usually, the release of the main character from his incarceration would mark the films natural conclusion, however being released from prison is only the start of Rainwood's troubles and the film continues at steady pace until the final climatic showdown which will leave you totally rooting for main character.
A very welcome, although somewhat surprising release for Blu-ray treatment, the film is presented in a 1080i 1.78:1 wide-screen transfer which actually looks pretty good. Ultimately, there is nothing here of stand out quality, however the picture looks quite sharp with some nice detail on display as well as showing reasonable colour representation and black levels also appearing natural. With minimal print damage on display apart from the odd slight flicker or speck, this new HD release really marks a vast improvement over previous DVD releases. Thankfully, Mill Creek Entertainment have produced this Blu-ray as a region free disc, so people who need to consider region coding issues need not be concerned.
Audio is presented as a DTS 2.0 master and although entirely unremarkable, dialogue is clear without any distortion and the now memorable score obviously sounding better than ever. Admittedly certain action scenes do come across as a little flat, however this is only in comparison to more modern day releases and the soundtrack overall provides a reasonably good listening experience.
Sadly there are no extras present on this release, however the main selling point here is the film itself and this being a budget release, you actually get an awful lot of film for your money.
If you are looking for an emotion filled yet realistic character driven story, complete with excellent acting from the lead role and supporting cast, then this film is a great way to be thoroughly entertained while also probably left wondering how you would ultimately cope should the same situation occur.
Almost a mini classic, for certain it is nice to see these less remembered titles finding their way to Blu-ray and hopefully other lesser known movies will now follow suit.
"Two cops on the take just made the biggest mistake of their lives, they framed an innocent man."
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Buy An Innocent Man (1989) Now
Even though you know what's going to happen to Tom Selleck's character, and you know that the ending will be happy, watching the process is enjoyably discomfiting. This is a plot film -stuff keeps happening to the main character, things he appears utterly incapable of controlling, and everything spirals right into disaster. Great Friday night fare. Make a lot of popcorn and savor it.Read Best Reviews of An Innocent Man (1989) Here
Jimmie Rainwood (Selleck) is a hard-working crew chief for a major airline. Two crooked cops are ready to line their pockets from a drug bust. It goes badly and Jimmie's new home awaits: a maximum security prison.Life ain't easy on the inside. Luckily, he becomes friends with Virgil (F. Murray Abraham) who shows him the ropes and takes a liking to him. So does Jingles (Young). For all the wrong reasons.
The tension behind the prison walls is equal to what's happening to Rainwood's wife (Robins)outside them, courtesy of our vigilant 'protect and serve' friends. If you like your revenge sweet, and the bad guys getting theirs, then "An Innocent Man" will be your cup of poison.
I was never a huge fan of Selleck's but this film changed my mind. You'll want this movie in your personal collection.
Want An Innocent Man (1989) Discount?
Innocent? Yes, aren't we all? But in AN INNOCENT MAN, Jimmie Rainwood (Tom Selleck) really is, albeit a presumably highly paid one as a senior mechanic on the aircraft maintenance line of American Airlines in Southern California. Married to Kate (Laila Robins) and living in a hillside house with a view of Los Angeles-San Pedro Harbor, Jimmie has the good life. That is, until he runs afoul of two corrupt drug squad detectives from the local constabulary, Parnell (David Rasche) and Scalise (Richard Young), who supplement their income partnering with a major narcotics supplier, stealing from competing dealers, and selling the goods to their patron. Mistakenly led to believe that a deal is going down at Rainwood's home, they bust in while Jimmie is home alone finishing up a shower. Parnell and Scalise shoot Rainwood thinking the hair dryer he's holding is a weapon. Realizing their mistake, they cover their tracks by planting drugs in the home and a gun in Jimmie's hand, with which he ostensibly took a shot at the officers. Ultimately, Rainwood angrily refuses to plead guilty to lesser charges to get a reduced sentence, and a jury trial results in six years in the state pen.While incarcerated, Jimmie must thrust aside inhibitions and learn how to literally kill to survive. He does this under the tutelage of fellow con and self-admitted criminal, Virgil Cane (F. Murray Abraham), also put away by Parnell and Scalise, though they beat up Cane's girlfriend during the process of the arrest. Eventually, Rainwood is let out on parole after three years. Returning home, he and Kate continue to be oppressed by the two crooked cops, and Jimmie falls back on his hard-won survival skills to break himself and his wife free.
My Mom recommended AN INNOCENT MAN since, in her former capacity as a staff psychiatrist for the Nevada Department of Corrections, she worked out of the men's prison in Carson City, where the exterior shots of Jimmie's lock-up were shot. If you've ever been to Nevada's state capitol, you'll recognize the adjacent Sierra Nevada range in the film. (The interior shots were apparently filmed at a disused prison in Cincinnati, OH no mountains there.)
Now, the corrupt cop Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) in the 2001 film Training Day was one bad dude. Here, the Parnell and Scalise characters, while dangerous, are played as obnoxious wise guys almost to the point of caricature; Rasche and Young rendered them positively annoying by overacting, which is probably why Washington is an "A List" performer while the latter two aren't and never will be. At the other end of the spectrum is Detective Fitzgerald (Badja Djola) of Internal Affairs, who sympathizes with Kate's and Jimmie's dilemma and knows Parnell and Scalise are dirty, but can't prove it. Djola's performance is about as animated as a wooden hitching post.
Kate Rainwood, played competently by Robins, is believable and sympathetic as Jimmie's loyal wife, but her character is essentially tangential. The best supporting performance is undoubtedly by Abraham as the wily, prison-savvy Cane, whose motive for helping Rainwood is mostly inscrutable until the film's end when the payback Virgil is now enabled to deliver is delicious in the audience's contemplation.
Tom Selleck reminds me of John Wayne. The Duke never really acted; any role he played was essentially John Wayne dressed in a different costume. Wayne was, in my opinion a superlative entertainer, but not a great actor. Selleck, I think, falls into this same category. The majority of his movies are class B flicks more suitable for television, but his on-screen characters are so consistently engaging and attractive perhaps accurately reflecting Tom himself that I'd rather watch any one of his efforts than a substandard outing by a Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. For Selleck's presence alone, I'm awarding AN INNOCENT MAN four stars.
There's one aspect of the film that continues to niggle at my mind. At the conclusion, Jimmie packs a pistol that evolves in the plot as the one placed in his unconscious hand by Parnell and Scalise during the original frame-up three years previous. How did Rainwood come into its possession? Wouldn't it have been confiscated as evidence, and then destroyed by the police after his conviction?
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