One of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Most Unforgettable Performances Is in This Apple TV Thriller
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Jake Gyllenhaal has proven time and again that he’s one of the most talented actors working in Hollywood today. After breaking out in roles like October Sky and Donnie Darko, Gyllenhaal took home an Oscar nomination for his impressive performance in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain. He’s continued to churn out versatile projects like Jarhead and Zodiac, but it’s his recent role in a dark, twisted Apple TV thriller that you’ll need to watch to truly get the full breadth of his talent.
What Is Apple TV’s ‘Presumed Innocent’ About?
In 1987, Scott Turrow published a book called Presumed Innocent. It became a bestseller, and was first adapted for a Harrison Ford film in 1990. Last year, it received a new life when it was brought to Apple TV for an 8-episode season. The show follows Rusty Sabich (Gyllenhaal), a dedicated prosecutor who, at first, seems to have the perfect career and family life. He’s married to Barbara (Ruth Negga), and has two loving teenage children, Kyle (Kingston Rumi Southwick) and Jaden (Chase Infiniti). But Rusty’s world gets turned upside down when his co-worker, Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve), is found brutally murdered in her home. Having a colleague die in such a horrific way would be startling enough for Rusty, but it turns out that Rusty was having an affair with Carolyn, and he quickly becomes the police’s number one suspect in her death.
Presumed Innocent unfolds as a suspenseful wild ride as we follow along with Rusty’s story. He’s adamant that he didn’t kill Carolyn, but he has plenty of motive to, and the more we get to know Rusty, the more believable it becomes that he could fly off the handle in a moment of rage. Should we believe him when he says he had nothing to do with her death and is completely innocent? Or should we trust the many signs that Rusty can be quite a loose cannon?
Each piece of information the viewer is given helps us try to discover who really killed Carolyn, all while we’re left wondering whether Rusty will be able to save himself from a lengthy prison sentence. No matter what, the perfect image Rusty had built for his career and his home life had now been shattered forever. No longer will Rusty be looked at as an upstanding member of the legal world or as a family man. This destruction of his facade is perhaps the most upsetting to Rusty, but it’s a clear message to the viewer: don’t be afraid to question everything you’re seeing.
Apple TV’s ‘Presumed Innocent’ Is One of the Twistiest Legal Thrillers Out There
There are plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing about the mystery surrounding Carolyn’s death. But the use of flashbacks in an inventive way also makes the storytelling far more interesting than other traditional legal thrillers. With these jumps backwards in time, we get to see the intimate relationship between Carolyn and Rusty that occurred in the past. This helps to create an underlying sexual tension to the storytelling that makes everything feel more riveting.
There are also tons of twists and turns to the narrative, especially as Rusty’s former co-worker, Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard), becomes hell-bent on taking Rusty down for this crime. Rusty has a devoted lawyer, Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp), and, of course, his own legal expertise, but will it be enough to save Rusty? All of the action is super high-stakes, which creates a far more heightened sense of fear. One thing we do know for sure: each episode will have you on the edge of your seat, never knowing who to trust. A Collider review agreed, noting that Presumed Innocent offers a “nuanced approach to justice, lust, power, ethics, and pride [that] makes it one of the standout television shows.”
Jake Gyllenhaal Delivers an Incredible Performance in ‘Presumed Innocent’
Each scene of Presumed Innocent is complex and completely compelling. Whether you’re speeding to the next episode because of a shocking cliffhanger or savoring all of the action by spreading out your watching experience, the series’ intense tone makes for an exciting watch either way. The show, created by David E. Kelley, sings with electric energy in every frame, and much of this is due to Gyllenhaal’s immense talent. As Rusty, he perfects the manic and frenzied anxiety that goes along with his out-of-control life, and Gyllenhaal makes it imperative that Rusty is someone who is always simmering with despair. It would be easy to view Rusty as an unsympathetic character (since he cheated on his wife and is possibly guilty of murder), but somehow Gyllenhaal is still able to make us see Rusty as the protagonist. You might cringe at some of Rusty’s choices throughout the series, but you’ll still be locked into Gyllenhaal’s performance no matter what.
But it’s not just Gyllenhaal that helps to transform Presumed Innocent into a binge-worthy show. Negga is also outstanding as the aggrieved wife. Your heart will ache for Barbara’s sorrow, and Negga makes sure that Barbara is an altogether sympathetic character. Infiniti (who’s had a boost to her career with the recent film, One Battle After Another) plays Rusty’s daughter with a quiet vulnerability, which allows us to understand what Rusty has truly given up with his infidelity. No mention of the impressive supporting cast would be complete without Sarsgaard, who is also fantastic as the apparent villain in the story. He makes Tommy a bit pathetic in some ways, which makes the battle between good and evil all the more ambiguous. Each actor works to create a plot that feels even more hauntingly realistic.
Presumed Innocent wraps up in a satisfying — although completely shocking — way in the finale. Let’s just say that you won’t see the ending coming at all. The series was nominated for four Emmy nominations (including ones for Gyllenhaal, Camp, Sarsgaard, and Negga), even further validating its high-caliber acting. The series was renewed for a second season, but surprisingly, Gyllenhaal is not expected to return. In fact, there will be an entirely new cast (including Matthew Rhys, Rachel Brosnahan, and Fiona Shaw), and will be adapted from a completely new book called Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray. However, if the second season is anything like the first, we’ll all be in for a wholly entertaining journey.
Season 1 of Presumed Innocent is available to stream on Apple TV in the U.S.
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