PRESUMED INNOCENT: Season One Review – Apple TV+ Does It Again

August 19, 2024

Introduction

Launching five years ago, Apple TV+ was far from a sure thing. Sure, it had deep pockets and could attract big names from the get-go (Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and Jennifer Aniston, to name a few). Getting a few stars to launch a new product is all well and good, but, in a marketplace saturated with top-shelf competition (Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Max, etc.), would Apple TV+ be able to keep up with these established titans of the streaming wars. Five years later, the answer is a resounding yes.

It helped that Apple TV+ could reach out directly to its one billion subscribers on their devices, offering a free year’s service when they upgraded. Apple TV+ was also dramatically cheaper than the competition – $4.99 at launch and still only $9.99. As for the content, perhaps it was its willingness to try different things that made Apple TV+ stand out from the rest of the wolves. A morning news show drama (The Morning Show), a series built around a soccer coach (Ted Lasso), and being able to plug and unplug yourself when you go to work (Severance).

Whether it’s on the big screen (Killers of the Flower Moon, Napolean, and the upcoming Brad Pitt Formula One vehicle F1), or the small screen, Apple TV+ has proven that it’s a breeding ground for not just success, but quality original content. This tradition continues with the compelling and at times off-the-rails production of Scott Turrow’s best-selling 1987 novel, Presumed Innocent. Season one of this wildly entertaining series is its most-watched drama series ever, according to Apple.

Synopsis

In Presumed Innocent, Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a supremely talented, confident, and arrogant prosecutor in Chicago. When we are first introduced to Rusty he seems to be living the ideal life. A servant of the people in a thriving metropolis, he also has a picture-perfect home life. A beautiful and intelligent wife, Barbara (Ruth Negga). A well-grounded teenage daughter, Jaden (Chase Infiniti). And bright and athletic son, Kyle (Kingston Rumi Southwick). Of course, this being a legal thriller, based on a Scott Turow novel, all is not what it appears to be.

We quickly find out that Caroline Polhemus (Renate Reinsve), is brutally bound, gagged, and murdered. Caroline, an up-and-coming and popular prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, turns out to have been a close friend and colleague of Rusty. Very close. With the city of Chicago in an uproar and the media coverage intense, Rusty is given the case as well as the task of prosecuting the killer. But what if Rusty IS the killer?

While Rusty gets assigned the case, the powers that be soon realize that Rusty and Caroline had been lovers. When it’s found out that Caroline was also pregnant with Rusty’s child, Rusty goes from lead prosecutor to lead suspect. Fellow prosecutor and chief rival Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard) takes over the case as Rusty fights to clear his name. With Chief Prosecuting Attorney Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp), and closest ally to Rusty, being pushed out of his job, the outlook for Rusty and those closest to him looks grim.

Analysis

Throughout 1990s cinema, courtroom dramas were a force to be reckoned with, both critically and at the box office. A Few Good Men (1992), The Firm (1993), Philidelphia (1993), and Primal Fear (1996), are just a few that come to mind. Turow’s big-screen adaptation of Presumed Innocent (1990) was no exception. The courtroom thriller starring Harrison Ford grossed over $220 million on a $20 million budget. That’s why veteran showrunner, writer, and producer David E. Kelley had big shoes to fill when trying to bring Presumed Innocent to the small screen.

Kelley, the creator and showrunner of Boston Legal and The Practice, among others, took the challenge and ran with it. He uses the first-person narrative from Rusty’s POV to lay the foundation of a shaky-at-best alibi for the accused prosecutor. Further, sexual and violent flashbacks show Rusty and Caroline in the throes of both passion and anger. The viewer doesn’t know what or who to believe. Slick direction and pacing by Anne Sewitsky and Greg Yaitanes, and stellar performances from Gyllenhaal, Camp, and Sarsgaard make Presumed Innocent one of the better courtroom procedurals of 2024.

Like so many shows of this type, most of our central characters are at different levels of unlikeable. Gyllenhaal’s Rusty may or may not be a homicidal monster and he has the narcissistic personality to boot. We like him (because he’s Jake Gyllenhaal) but we also HATE him. Peter Saarsgard as Tommy is particularly thin-skinned and slimy. He has his agenda and it’s not a very pleasant one. Perhaps the only inherently likable character is Bill Camp’s Raymond. He’s loud, a wiseass, and boisterous, but he cares and has a good heart.

Further Discussion

Much like Brad Pitt, Jake Gyllenhaal has been trapped somewhere between a handsome leading man and an eccentric character actor. Pitt was able to carefully balance the two. Gyllenhall, not so much. For the better part of the last decade, Gyllenhaal’s best performances have been when he embraces the weird and amps up the intensity (Nightcrawler, Nocturnal Animals, Prisoners). In Presumed Innocent, Gyllenhall is going full-Gyllenhaal, often blowing his scene partners off the screen with bouts and fits of shouting, punching, and over-the-top acting. He’s unhinged.

Peter Sarsgaard, longtime husband to Gyllenhaal’s sister, Maggie, is chewing up the scenery with a deliciously pathetic portrayal of Tommy. Several of the series’ best scenes belong to Sarsgaard. Bill Camp is, as usual, fantastic in his portrayal of Raymond. If Gyllenhaal is the series X-Factor, Camp is its anchor, grounding every scene that he’s in. It’s only Ruth Negga’s portrayal of Barbara that leaves the viewer with a bit of a bad taste in their mouth, and that’s not due to her performance. Her character is dreadfully underwritten. Too bad for such a fine actor.

Conclusion

There’s a reason why Presumed Innocent is the most-watched original drama in the history of Apple TV+ and there’s a reason why this sub-genre continues to rope in viewers. People love a good whodunnit. That’s exactly what David E. Kelley delivers. Sure, it’s got familial drama and cheating spouse subplots. But at the end of the day, it’s a juicy whodunnit with a top-notch cast and great writing. What’s not to love? Apple TV+ seems to agree as a second season has been greenlit for the streamer. If you enjoy Jake Gyllenhaal dialed up to eleven, be sure to catch season one of Presumed Innocent.

Presumed Innocent had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, 2024, and was released on Apple TV+ on June 12, 2024.

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