Not every actor was meant to play every role. Richard Gere, for example, was ideal as a high-profile, hotshot lawyer in "Primal Fear"; Melanie Griffith plays the female version of more or less the exact same role here, and she makes a valiant try, but the result is just posing, not acting. The film is watchable, thanks mostly to good direction by Randal Kleiser, who gives it the look and feel of a picture destined for theatrical release, even though it barely got any. But it is weakly plotted, and relies on all sorts of contrivances to move along (criminals who are carelessly spilling their guts out about crimes they committed, etc.). And what's worse, it doesn't play fair with the audience; the resolution is based on clues we had no way of knowing about. At least Tom Berenger proves that he is still a dependable actor. (**)
Review of Shadow of Doubt
