Reversal of Fortune Movie Review

Here's the movie that made Jeremy Irons such a memorable villain. (Well, this and Dead Ringers.) And it's all true: Claus von Bulow was convicted of nearly murdering his ultra-rich wife (Glenn Close), who lay in a coma after a massive insulin overdose. The famous Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) handles the appeal: While it initially appears to be a no-contest-he's-guilty-slam-dunk, all manner of evidence comes to light indicating that not only is Claus probably innocent, he almost certainly is. How we change our minds into rooting for this bad guy remains one of cinema's greatest tricks. You may feel different about the voice-over narration, provided by the comatose Sunny, the film's one iffy spot. (As for Sunny, she's still in a coma as of 2005, 25 years later.)