05. DOUBLE JEOPARDY (1999)
Framed for the murder of her husband,
Ashley Judd plays Libby Parsons, a woman who is imprisoned for a crime she didnt commit. After engineering her release the film becomes a tale of revenge and Libbys attempts to track down her missing son, whilst finding her husband alive and clearing her name. There is a particularly taut scene where in
Double Jeopardy where Libbys husband Nick (
Bruce Greenwood) traps her inside a sealed coffin (complete with a buddy corpse!) years before Tarantino would use the same idea.
Tommy Lee Jones stars as Judds parole officer and she spends the latter half of the film trying to dodge him on the run. This aspect of the narrative helps build suspense and coupled with the mystery surrounding Nicks alleged murder, the plot moves at a fast pace and remains entertaining throughout. Whilst Double Jeopardy is an enjoyable on-the-run romp, there are some legal inaccuracies that mean you have to suspend your disbelief slightly and look past them. Whilst the clause of double jeopardy is a constitutional right of the Fifth Amendment in the U.S., it wouldnt apply to the events within this film as the clause only prevents people from being put under trial twice with the same facts. Therefore, when Libby kills Nick for real, this would constitute a separate crime and she could legally be tried again.