When a murder case is this shocking, which do you trust? Your emotions or your evidence?
Overview
After a wealthy heiress is murdered in her beach house, her devastated husband becomes the prime suspect. He hires a lawyer who hasn’t taken a criminal case in years, and as they work together, a complicated romance develops amidst the trial.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.1/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.20/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Metacritic: 60
TMDB: 6.3/10
Director
Richard Marquand
Production
Delphi IV Productions, Columbia Pictures
Cast
Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote, Lance Henriksen, Robert Loggia, Michael Dorn, Maria Mayenzet, William Allen Young, Ben Hammer, James Karen, Al Ruscio, Bruce French, Brandon Call, Phyllis Applegate, Guy Boyd, Dave Austin, Sanford Jensen, Woody Eney, James Winkler, Christina Hutter
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, adult courtroom thriller with strong star chemistry and a few genuinely fun twists, but it’s also uneven, overtalky, and more interested in seduction and legal maneuvering than airtight suspense. Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges carry it, even when the plotting gets wobbly.
Best for
Viewers who like courtroom dramas with erotic-thriller energy
Fans of 1980s glossy suspense and star-driven vehicles
People who enjoy morally murky romance mixed with crime
Audiences who don’t mind spotting twists early if the performances are strong
Skip if
You want a tightly constructed mystery
You’re allergic to melodrama and courtroom theatrics
You expect the thriller side to stay as sharp as the premise
You prefer modern pacing and cleaner plotting
Overview
Jagged Edge is a very 1980s kind of thriller: sleek, adult, a little sleazy, and built around the chemistry between two movie stars who know exactly how to hold the frame. The setup is irresistible, and the film understands that suspicion can be more seductive than certainty. Glenn Close gives the movie its backbone, while Jeff Bridges leans into the charm and ambiguity that make the central relationship work.
Worth noting
The problem is that the movie often seems more interested in the idea of a dangerous romance than in the mechanics of a great whodunit. Once the courtroom machinery takes over, the film becomes less tense than talky, and some of the twists are so telegraphed they feel almost cheeky. Still, there’s enough atmosphere, confidence, and performance heat to keep it watchable.
Bottom line
If you like your thrillers glossy, adult, and slightly unhinged in tone, this has a lot to offer. If you need airtight plotting, it may frustrate you. But as a star vehicle with a nasty edge and a memorable final stretch, it earns its place as an uneven but entertaining genre piece.
Top Letterboxd reviews
jourdain searles · 308 likes
“Fuck him. He was trash.” is a great final line
Patrick Willems (2.5★) · 178 likes
Absolutely bonkers that a major story beat here is all the characters going “*GASP* He said ‘bitch!’ And the killer said ‘bitch!’ No other person has ever used that word before so he MUST be the killer!”
Matt Singer (3★) · 169 likes
Somehow, I never saw this proto-Eszterhas erotic thriller. It’s fine, and Jeff Bridges is really good as the seductive murder suspect who might have killed his wife, but here is the weird thing I got the biggest kick out of: The sound editing in the courtroom scenes. Any time there’s a shocking new bit of testimony, there’s a wave of murmurs and excited whispers from the jury and the audience. Scene after scene after scene it goes on like that.… more Somehow, I never saw this proto-Eszterhas erotic thriller. It’s fine, and Jeff Bridges is really good as the seductive murder suspect who might have killed his wife, but here is the weird thing I got the biggest kick out of: The sound editing in the courtroom scenes. Any time there’s a shocking new bit of testimony, there’s a wave of murmurs and excited whispers from the jury and the audience. Scene after scene after scene it goes on like that.… more
Slig001 (3.5★) · 90 likes
Jagged Edge begins with an intriguing premise - a woman is murdered in her bed by an unseen assailant. Suspicion then rests on the late woman's husband - he hires a female lawyer to defend him, but soon the pair are falling in love. The film largely forsakes the murder mystery angle in favour of the chemistry between the two central characters and the politics behind the justice system. Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges are very good in the central… more Jagged Edge begins with an intriguing premise - a woman is murdered in her bed by an unseen assailant. Suspicion then rests on the late woman's husband - he hires a female lawyer to defend him, but soon the pair are falling in love. The film largely forsakes the murder mystery angle in favour of the chemistry between the two central characters and the politics behind the justice system. Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges are very good in the central… more
Karl (3★) · 86 likes
Another average movie where Glenn Close gives a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination.
1993 · Drama, Mystery, Thriller · 2h 34m · R · Curator 4.3/10 (284.1K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus
A polished legal thriller with paranoia, secrets, and a protagonist pulled into a dangerous professional web.