Jake Gyllenhaal, who is riding high on the success of his streaming feature debut Road House, is all set to continue to storm the streaming space this time with his first TV role. He stars as Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rusty Sabich in AppleTV+’s adaptation of Presumed Innocent. It is based on Scott Turow’s 1987 novel of the same name, which also had a 1990 film adaptation starring Harrison Ford. The 8-episode miniseries that Gyllenhaal also executive produced is created by genre expert David E. Kelley.
The premise here is quite interesting. It is a courtroom drama/legal thriller, but there is a twist. The official synopsis reads “a gripping journey through the horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when one of its own is suspected of the crime.” The suspect here is the deputy prosecutor Rusty himself, who is also initially assigned as the prosecutor on the murder case. Ruth Negga, Renate Reinsve, Peter Saarsgaard, Lily Rabe, O T Fagbenle and Bill Camp round out the supporting cast and make for a strong ensemble.
Rusty is competent, arrogant, and edgy, and often behaves like a loose cannon. He has an ongoing rivalry with Tommy Molto (Peter Saarsgaard), who also happens to be given the job to prosecute Rusty. David E. Kelley is exactly in his zone here. He excels at creating these well-rounded legal dramas and he is at his best here as well. He has previously created successful shows like The Undoing, Love and Death, The Lincoln Lawyer, etc, and he crafts a compelling narrative for this 21st-century TV adaptation.
He makes a lot of changes from the book and the movie and also adds a few subplots that add interesting layers to the dish. A lot of intriguing character dynamics are set up very early in the story and they are the main hook for viewers, especially in the first 2 episodes. The central mystery takes a while to get going but once it does, there’s no stopping it. The dialogue is also one of the strongest parts of the narrative. It maintains the intensity and constantly reminds us of the stakes. It is a very dialogue-heavy story and it needed to hit the mark on that front, and thankfully it does.
There are so many complicated characters and personalities here, but the performances and teleplay ease you into understanding their motivations and desires. Gyllenhaal is the clear standout and he knocks it out of the park in a meaty and layered role. Saarsgaard and Camp are the other MVPs and support him well. These three also share great chemistry on screen, making the dynamic even more watchable. Rabe and Reinsve feel slightly wasted, with both getting disappointingly thin arcs. The episodes are short here, but the pacing throughout is excellent.
The part where the show struggles is when it is trying to convey the psychological struggles of its characters. The editing there feels rushed and at times it seems that the makers are unnecessarily trying to jump genres. The sex scenes are also mostly portrayed through constantly chopping flashbacks, and they are really tame. I hardly felt any intensity in the intimacy and the directors seem very scared to show skin in the sex scenes but for some reason, they are very comfortable doing that outside the intimate scenes. The seventh episode also ends on an interesting cliffhanger and the story could fall apart in the finale, but there’s hardly any evidence so far that suggests that they will mess this up.
Presumed Innocent is a gripping legal thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a stellar performance in his first TV role. It has the rare ability to balance multiple complicated dynamics while giving almost every character a compelling arc. The twists keep you guessing the nail-biting narrative keeps you hooked to your screens.. It works better as a binge but will stay on your mind long after the episodes end. One of the best things AppleTV+ has produced in a long time.
Presumed Innocent will premiere on AppleTV+ on June 12 with its first 2 episodes. Episodes 1-7 were screened for review.
