![]() ![]() ![]() The cast produces pleasure with nice performances from Michael Nussbaum and Joe Grifasi, while Bruce McGill dominates his scenes as is his custom, and only the generally reliable Ken Pogue somehow not being able to act his way out of a box this time it is, however, Fairuza Balk who contributes a star turn, by understanding her part and instinctively providing always appropriate shadings to her role. This is by way of being a vanity film for the always pleasing Dennehy who is seldom off the screen and who writes and directs here as well, and he is adept at building to a mood of suspense, although his acting range limitations are brought into focus. And as the imitative but inferior Stoker shows, it’s the kind of film that casts a long shadow.Brian Dennehy portrays Charlie Sloan, a recovering alcoholic defense attorney back from the lower depths and hired by an old flame, Robin Harwell (Bonnie Bedelia), to represent her stepdaughter Angel (Fairuza Balk) in a murder case wherein Angel has been arrested for the slaying of her father and Robin's husband, wealthy Harrison Harwell, a case less than promising for the defendant after being snared in hiding with bloody hands and clothing, and possibly coerced into giving a videotaped confession. It’s subversive, nail-biting, eerie, and gorgeously shot - no wonder Hitch often cited it as his finest achievement. Hitchcock picks at the placid surface of small-town America like a scab, imbuing each scene with deep-running undercurrents of menace. On the surface, Cotten is the local boy made good, but he’s actually rotten to the core. Written by Thornton Wilder, Shadow of a Doubt is essentially what would happen if you let loose a monster in Our Town. ![]() ( EXTRAS include a recycled but informative making-of documentary.) Joseph Cotten plays the original Uncle Charlie, a suave, beloved relative living with his sister’s family until his niece (Teresa Wright) uncovers the murderous secret behind his meticulously crafted facade, which propels the movie toward its iconic final sequence aboard a train. Hitchcock’s brilliant film (also newly available on Blu-ray) is still just as unnerving and masterful 70 years later. ![]()
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