Scott Turow wrote his first novel, Presumed Innocent, in 1987. Three years later, it was adapted into a movie starring Harrison Ford. Fast-forward over thirty years, and David E. Kelley, known for hit shows like The Practice, Alley McBeal, and Big Little Lies, is adapting the novel to the small screen for Apple TV+. This crime thriller features magnificent twists and turns and two powerful performances by Academy Award nominees Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga.
Presumed Innocent Plot
Presumed Innocent follows the story of a Chicago Prosecutor who finds himself a suspect in the middle of a horrific murder. The series explores sex, politics, and obsession as Rusty Sabich fights to keep his family and marriage together.
The Critique
David E. Kelley, a master of the thriller genre, takes on the challenge of breathing new life into a story we thought we knew. Rusty Sabich, the protagonist, is a man of many layers. A prosecutor, a husband, a father-but these are just the surface. Beneath lies a web of lies and deceit, and now he’s at the heart of a murder investigation, his mistress dead.
Kelley structures this show with layers to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. In the modern age of dropping everything at once, viewers still crave shows that deliver weekly in a way that makes them yearn for the next episode. The writing team understood the assignment because the cliffhangers in each episode were mind-bending.
Another thing that stood out about Presumed Innocent was the linear storytelling, which saw each episode pick up right after the other. Because of this, you don’t miss anything, and the writers don’t leave room to guess what happened (outside of whether Rusty did it). It’s tense, gripping, and often unsettling.
A series’s script is only as good as the actors delivering the lines. The casting team deserves much praise for adding such attention to detail to each of the more minor characters and not just the principal. I’ll talk more in-depth about Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga, but I want to point out the performances of Bill Camp, Peter Saarsgard, and Gabby Beans. Each had the critical job of elevating our main characters and allowing us to care about more than just the murder.
Jake Gyllenhaal proves time and time again that he is one of the best actors of this generation. He doesn’t settle for a specific genre or carve out his niche in one role. Instead, we’ve seen Gyllenhaal play a comic book character, a terrifying killer, and a badass MMA fighter. He sinks his teeth into the characters he portrays and does the same with Rusty Sabich. Sabich is a lover and a fighter, yet cocky, arrogant, and somewhat naive. Everyone expects Gyllenhaal to deliver when he is on the screen, which is no different within Presumed Innocent.
Barbara Sabich has to show empathy, support, and care for her husband, all while he is on trial for murdering his mistress. Ruth Negga had the tall task of humanizing her counterpart in Jake Gyllenhaal as Rusty Sabich. There is a particular moment in the season where we see Barbara deconstruct the idea of her body language within the courtroom, and it is one of the best scenes of the entire series. Negga delivers a masterclass performance.
Upon a rewatch (yes, that’s how good this show is), I picked up context clues I missed in my first watch of the series. The depth of the writing of this tragic love story between Rusty and Carolyn leaves you clinging to the idea of reality because you are watching things unfold from Rusty’s perspective. It floors me to watch it not once but twice and still lean on both sides of whether or not Rusty killed her or not. Kelley and his writing team do such a beautiful job of making the audience feel like they are part of this affair.
Conclusion
Presumed Innocent sets the stage for one of the most talked-about series of the year. The intricacies of layered storytelling continue to show that David E. Kelley is one of the best show creators in the business. Apple TV+ has a massive hit on its hands, and I could see this series being in the Emmy conversation with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga getting awarded for their work.
Presumed Innocent is a captivating thriller that features two award-worthy performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga. This is easily one of the best series of 2024 so far.
8/10
Presumed Innocent debuts on Apple TV+ on June 12 with two episodes and will air new episodes leading up to the finale on July 24. Seven out of eight episodes reviewed.
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