Jagged Edge (1985) review

When both the wife and the maid of print media magnate Jack Forrester (Jeff Bridges) are butchered by a maniac with a hunting knife, he's considered the prime suspect ... so he and his team convince prominent lawyer Teddy Barnes (Glenn Close) to take on the case and the two become romantically entwined even though she has lingering doubts regarding his innocence.  This "thriller" was a financial success upon release in the mid-80's, but the dime store screenplay by Joe Eszterhas is achingly predictable and chock full o' gaping plot holes, and the courtroom drama is about what you'd expect from a single episode of Perry Mason.  What helps make it slightly bearable are the performances: former investigator Sam Ransom (Robert Loggia) cleans himself up to gather valuable data, district attorney Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote) may be a sleaze (although he's proven correct in the end) and Close's last scenes (where she realizes she's been manipulated) are strong.  Apparently some controversy arose when audiences couldn't tell who the actual killer was at the conclusion ... so I'll happily spoil it for you: "It's like Lenin said: you look for the person who will benefit and uh ... uh, you know."