Under suspicion is a 2000 American-French thriller based on the 1981 French film Garde à vue. Both the movies are adapted from the 1970s British novel Brainwash, written by John Wainwright. It was first selected and later screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. The movie follows the classic whodunnit technique. A string of close room investigations follows when a wealthy tax attorney Henry Hearst finds the body of a young girl who has been raped and murdered. The movie tries to create enough tension with the proximity investigation technique carried out by Captain Victor Benezet and Detective Felix Owens.
Gene Hackman produced the movie, and Tom Provost adapted the screenplay. Even after having some of the most prominent Hollywood names in the industry, The movie was given a limited release to only 19 theaters in North America. Having an average IMDB rating of 5.3/10, the film engrossed $334,245 in its run.
The Stellar Star Cast Of Under Suspicion
The movie has some of the most unique and famous stars cast with all the big names:-
- Gene Hackman as Henry Hearst
- Morgan Freeman as Captain Victor Benezet
- Thomas Jane as Detective Felix Owens
- Monica Bellucci as Chantal Hearst
With two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs, and one Silver Bear winner, actor Gene Hackman stars as the main protagonist. His other works include The French Connection, The Poseidon adventure, etc.
Noted for his deep, distinctive baritone, Morgan Freeman needs no introduction. Freeman has received various Academy, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards with a career spanning five decades. His most notable movies are Shawshank Redemption, Seven, and The Dark Knight Rises, among many others.
Under Suspicion- Ending Explained
The movie’s title rings true throughout the film as the main protagonist Henry Hearst is “Under Suspicion” for the whole length of the film. Does the main suspense play on whether Henry is guilty or not? And right when all his actions and various differing stories point out that he is guilty, the twist plays.
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When we meet Henry, he is about to give a speech at a charity event which automatically does not make him a perfect candidate for a murder suspect. His tendencies to like girls at a young age are revealed only later, which makes the viewers question his morality. While Henry confesses to the crimes, the police catch the ACTUAL KILLER in the act, which means Henry is not the natural killer of the girls.
Is Henry not the killer?
No matter how convincingly the movie pitches Henry as the potential killer of the murders, it is finally revealed he was not, in fact, the killer. While the photos in his room tend to tell something else, the movie shocks with its twisted ending. The lines between morality and crime are blurred, and henry turns out to be not guilty in the end. But that doesn’t change the fact about him being a pervert, Henry might not be the killer, but he is the pervert his wife accuses him of being.
