The 2024 Jake Gyllenhaal remake roadshow trundles on. Fresh from stepping into Patrick Swayze’s shoes for Prime Video’s update of Road House, the A-lister is now slipping on Harrison Ford’s size 11s for Apple TV+’s new spin on 1990 thriller Presumed Innocent.
Gyllenhaal is as watchable as they come – with that lopsided grin and those twinkly eyes, he can carry the burden of most projects on his own. But he’s been setting himself some high bars recently and, with the charm dialled right down, it has mixed results here.
Based on the novel by Scott Turow, the original movie – about a prosecutor who becomes the lead suspect in the killing of a colleague – was a monster hit. And in the era of Big Streamer, it has all the right ingredients to be stretched from a two-hour film into an eight part show: murder, intrigue, sex, obsession and, er, local politics.
Beyond updating a few of the beats from 2024’s version, clues dropping on mobile phones, that sort of thing, the creators this time around – it’s executive produced by Gyllenhaal, JJ Abrahams and overseen by David E Kelley – don’t want to deviate too far from the winning formula (though it will have to find about five extra hours of material).
Gyllenhaal is Rusty Sabich – yes three decades ago, principal movie characters were routinely called ludicrous names like Rusty and Chip – seemingly living the American dream, playing baseball in the yard with a happy family, and high flying at work as Chicago’s pre-eminent prosecutor.
When a colleague is found murdered, and his past affair with her emerges, things start to unravel quickly. As Rusty’s home life falls apart so too does his professional status and rivals start jockeying for political power.
Gyllenhaal is strong, but his character is hard to warm to. Rusty faces trying circumstances, no doubt, but his response in the first few episodes is fairly alienating to just about everyone (especially the viewer). No longer any twinkle in the eye, he’s just a bit grouchy.
When it emerges that his former lover has been brutally offed, Rusty’s demeanor is not despair or spinning out of control, but the irritation of a passenger told his hand luggage won’t fit in a budget airline’s overhead locker and will have to be checked in.
The real MVP here is Ruth Negga as his long-suffering wife, who manages to turn every line into a symphony of pain, desperation and fading hope. It really is a performance to behold.
Around Rusty, the characters are slightly ludicrous, but gleefully played, from the schlubby DA Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp), to his political opponent Nico Della Guardia (OT Fagbenle, who’s having a right laugh) and Rusty’s direct rival Tommy Molto, played with oily, scene-chomping glee by Peter Sarsgaard.
Pretty much everyone seems to be fairly bad at their jobs, or at least pretty reckless and willing to cut corners, especially if there’s a chance to knock down a nemesis, and pretty much everyone hates each other – which will lead to excellent twists and turns down the line.
So it is gripping and will keep people’s interest. But following the success of the original film, many more hunter turned hunted movies and shows have followed and despite Presumed Innocent looking great and the stellar cast, the show now feels formulaic.
It may not live long in the memory but viewers may well keep watching until they end. As they do so, they can wonder which Hollywood star of yesteryear Gyllenhaal takes on next. My vote is between Kevin Costner for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Arnie in Kindergarten Cop.
