murder

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Murder Most Likely (1999)

Director: Alex Chapple

Writer: R. B. Carney & Robert Forsyth

Cast: Paul Gross, Marie-Josee Croze, Janine Theriault, Kim Huffman

Character: Sean Exley

Billing: 4th

Plot: Former undercover cop Patrick Kelly is accused of murdering his wife, but although the facts at first appear to be simple, the differing perspectives of the main characters confuse the issue.

Review: Your average made-for-TV, based-on-a-true-story films have always sold out to some simpering moral argument of the week, with the resulting product a mish mash of tearful teens, Baywatch rejects and an audience who really couldn't care less. Murder Most Likely does not have the word "average" in its vocabulary, with its strong cast the first indicator of this.

The lead role goes to Paul Gross, whose likeable image does well to balance out the many negative aspects of the character, who could so easily have become a straight villain. Kelly, it is mentioned often, is an actor in all aspects of his life, and his frequent character shifts - often in the space of one scene - give Gross an excellent showcase. However, what shifts this above the average is the interview-type method given to enable the other characters to put across their views - Kelly's wife, the detective who tracks him down, his best friend. Although the film sometimes gets weighted down by the sheer facts of the story, and it might have done better to simplify some of the details of Kelly's illegal activities, its concentration on the pivotal issue of his wife's death serves well enough to centre the story.

Of the supporting cast, Janine Theriault is suitably distracted as the ambiguous witness to the murder and Tom, playing yet another cop, does his baffled best. Exley is essentially Amos Turzo all grown up and serious, but Tom thankfully makes the character more human than a simple textbook detective. His genuine earnestness in trying to figure out the inconsistencies in the case - including a 3.8 second dash across Kelly's house - makes Exley perhaps the most credible character in the film. Stephen Ouimette and William B. Davis also both come across strongly, but ultimately have too little screen time. Ultimately the film rests on Gross' performance, but its structure and refusal to condemn anyone do it a lot of favours.

Trivia: Based on "Judas Kiss: The Undercover Life Of Patrick Kelly". Also starring Martha Burns from Long Day's Journey Into Night (who is married to Paul Gross) and Tom's Stratford pal Stephen Ouimette. Paul Gross played Hamlet at Stratford in 2000. Kim Huffman is also in The Spreading Ground.