San Francisco heiress Page Forrester is brutally murdered in her remote beach house. Her husband Jack is devastated by the crime but soon finds himself accused of her murder. He hires lawyer Teddy Barnes to defend him, despite the fact she hasn't handled a criminal case for many years. There's a certain chemistry between them and Teddy soon finds herself defending the man she loves.
The screenplay, by Joe Eszterhas, does what it can to throw up a smokescreen, but the audience will probably be well ahead of the story's final resolution.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
The wholesome cast completely obliterates the unstated perversities that have been this genre's reason for being.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
11 Feb 2008
fresh:
A well-crafted, hardboiled mystery.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
11 Feb 2008
rotten:
The biggest fault of Jagged Edge is that whatever suspense it manages to generate in its climactic scenes is achieved artificially, through tricky editing and manipulative ''danger'' music.