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Hollywood was particularly hard-hit by McCarthy's attack
on freedom of association/speech/political thought with many
very talented writers and directors hounded out and unable
to work.
Few were Communists, but all were tainted by association
or insinuation.
De Niro plays David Merrill, a high-flying director who lands
back in Hollywood after a couple of years in Paris.
What he finds is a town riven with suspicion and semi-official
blackmail where people are ordered to go before the Senate
Committee on un-American Activities and dob in friends and
workmates to save themselves.
All Merrill wants to do is make movies, but his refusal to
name names leaves him in dire financial straits.
Guilty by Suspicion is a more realistic look at Mccarthyism
than say The Majestic, although at the heart of both is a
person's inner conflict of whether to be employed - or do
the right thing.
De Niro is fantastic - needn't have said that - and Bening
is first-class as his loving, but ex, wife. Chris Cooper plays
a great role, as does Patricia Wettig, but the most interesting
casting has to be that of Sam Wanamaker - a real-life victim
of the witch-hunts - as the studio lawyer.
The video transfer is a beauty and the sound picks up the
dialogue very well.
Conclusion: 85% Extras: 20%.
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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