Ashley
Judd’s Athletic and Acting Prowess Carries This Mama Tracking her
Cheating Man and Stolen Child
Ashley Judd’s athleticism
and range of emotion make for some "real" action moments. She
exhibits the ferocity and tenacity of a tigress while she tracks her
philandering husband as she is being chased by her parole officer. (Yes,
there are elements of Fugitive in this, but it is really quite a
different story.)
Aside from the fine acting
and chemistry between the leads, the film is carried by a heroine
overcoming two emotional flash points deep-seated in most women. She
wants revenge on a cheating husband, and she wants to reclaim her
maternal prerogative to raise her son who has been taken from her.
The husband is not just
cheating. He has shattered the very fabric of Libby’s (Ashley Judd)
well-to-do existence as wife and mother. By his clever subterfuge, he
has faked his own murder. She must mourn his death, suffer a false
conviction to prison, and endure the loss of her son. Then she learns
that in fact her husband is not dead. He set all of this up to collect
insurance money for his death and has married the woman she trusted to
be her son's guardian. She breaks out of prison with revenge and reconciliation
with her son at heart. The pressure
mounts when she must fight her husband for her life while avoiding her parole officer (Tommy Lee
Jones), who ends up chasing her across the country..
The main problem with this
fine action thriller is the title and its premise that Libby cannot be
convicted of murdering her husband twice under the constitutional
provision barring double jeopardy. Craig is a recovering attorney so
he brings unfair expertise, but still there was this nagging thing.
Would this double jeopardy excuse really work? We guess we are supposed
to suspend disbelief because several lawyers repeat that it will, but it still
rang false. (By the way, in case any of you are planning a copy cat
murder of the same person twice, the double jeopardy defense would not
apply. If you are interested in more on this, e-mail us by clicking the
link below.)
Aside from the unreality
problem, the sour note of the double
jeopardy defense robbed the woman’s power in a role of an action hero. Libby
did not need to have a legal excuse for pursuing her husband to act out
her revenge. He was evil. He cheated. He imprisoned her. He stole her
child. He killed others to cover his tracks. Why not just let her go and
get the bastard without having to quell our discomfort of seeing a woman
become Rambo. Ashley is a buff babe, so let her do it from her own
chops.
With these shortcomings
aside, we hope to see more of Ashley Judd as a well-rounded action
heroine with heart and grit. Her voice and mien evoke sympathy and
compassion when she is hurting. Her raw physical power and stamina are full of
menace and grace. She is a sexy, powerful actress who deserves to grow
as a role model for what a woman of her type and gifts can and should
be.
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