Under Suspicion *** (1991, Liam Neeson, Laura San Giacomo, Kenneth Cranham) – Classic Movie Review 11,878

Writer-director Simon Moore’s 1991 film Under Suspicion is a rippingly enjoyable, spoofy British thriller, in which late 1950s Brighton cop Frank (Kenneth Cranham) sets out to clear his ex-partner, seedy divorce case private eye Tony Aaron (Liam Neeson), who is suspected of murdering his wife and a wealthy artist client, painter Carlo Stasio, shot dead in a hotel room.

The tale is good old-fashioned hokum, taken at a fast lick by feature début director Moore (from Channel 4’s Traffik) with just a few hints of something serious about how manners and morals have changed. The hints of film noir and eroticism help too.

Neeson is strong, Cranham is even better and Laura San Giacomo gets a chance to shine as prime suspect Angeline, Stasio’s mistress, ready to inherit his house and pictures.

Also in the cast are Alphonsia Emmanuel, Maggie O’Neill, Martin Grace, and Stephen Moore.

In the 1950s, Britain’s strict divorce laws could be circumvented by faking evidence of adultery, and Tony Aaron and his wife Hazel (Maggie O’Neill) are making a business out of providing phony photos and paid witnesses for divorce cases.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 11,878

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