Whitman: Presumed Innocent

Not until the end of the film do we know for sure that Rusty is innocent. We can only presume his innocence. From the beginning of the film the audience assumes a limited yet omniscient sort of jury position. We are the real judges and jury of Rusty because even after he is found not guilty we still don’t know for sure h is innocent (the scene with the glass would even suggest otherwise). Not only are we judging Rusty’s innocence in relation to the crime but his and every other characters personal ethics as well. As the film progresses we are exposed to "the dark side of the character” that changes our opinion of Rusty through various scenes. And at some points we may “actually wonder if he just might be capable of obsession and murder" (Pfeiffer 185).

One such scene is a flashback of Rusty’s. We see the development of his affair with Carolyn and start to see the dark side of his character. Whether or not he is innocent we know he isn’t a completely trustworthy person. After he is first accused of the murder we see more flashback. These are less lustful and capture Rusty’s anger and obsession toward Carolyn after she broke things off. His actions during these scenes moves the audience from seeing him as dishonest towards aggression and possible motive for murder.

While driving with his Lawyer Stern, Rusty slips up and proclaims his innocence. Rusty later acknowledges to hi wife that any defendant who says he is innocent might as well admit he is guilty because “defendants rarely tell the truth.” Rusty feels he may have now expressed to his own lawyer he is guilty which leads the audience to doubt Rusty plea of innocence as well.

Even after the case is dismissed we still don’t know for sure that Rusty is innocent. While meeting with Det.Lipranzer he’s presented with the missing glass that was a crucial piece of evidence for the case. Rusty sees that even his partner believed him to be guilty of murder. As the audience this makes us question if Rusty might in fact be guilty. This scene has very low key lighting and both of the characters are dress in dark clothing. The character proxemics are also personal which coupled with the darkness of the scene conveys a sense of secrecy. The dark and tight mise-en-scene matches the secret matters of their discussion. Though neither of them meant for the evidence to go missing Det.Lipranzer didn't point out he had it when the prosecution was looking for it and Rusty didn’t come forward with it afterwards.

This film captures the idea that real life is not a bunch of binaries. Everything is not black/white, good/bad, and not guilty does not mean someone is innocent.Too often in American cinema a characters portrayed with little to no flaws. This film does an excellent job of showing that good people have their dark side, can make mistakes, and even do evil things.