Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, George Touliatos

Young Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) is happy as a clam, and why not? She's got a loving, successful husband (Bruce Greenwood), an adorable son, and an island home to die for. One morning, after a romant...( read more  read more... )ic sailing expedition with her husband, Libby finds herself covered in blood. Her husband's missing, the boat resembles a murder scene, and there's a knife on the deck. One might stop right there and call for help; Libby, however, takes matters--or, more specifically, the knife--into her own hands, and the moment she does, there's the Coast Guard. Faster than you can say frame-up, Libby's been charged with murder and jailed, with her young son stripped from her custody. It's all cut-and-dried, except for one thing: Libby's husband isn't dead, and she's about to track him down. And thanks to the Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy rule, she can't be charged twice for his murder.

Double Jeopardy has a singularly seductive revenge premise and, in Judd, one of the most seductive leading ladies to grace the silver screen in recent years. So then why does this thriller feel like it came from the bottom of the Lifetime television movie barrel? Instead of taking a gritty, hard-boiled approach, the film plays up all of Libby's mushy emotions--tellingly, the director here is Bruce Beresford, whose best film, Driving Miss Daisy, is as far from thriller territory as you can get. No matter how stoically or deviously Judd plays her, Libby comes across as a soccer mom with a slight taste for blood. Only in a few scenes, specifically when she tracks her wily husband to his new identity in New Orleans, does Judd get to strut her stuff, stealing an evening gown and crashing his charity auction. Most of the time, though, this thriller offers only a smattering of suspense. Well, at least like Libby, the filmmakers can't be condemned twice for the same crime. With Tommy Lee Jones duplicating his Fugitive role, as Libby's conscientious parole officer. --Mark Englehart

Flixster Users

68% liked it

162,349 ratings

Critics

26% liked it

82 critics

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Bruce Beresford

Release Date: September 24, 1999

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DVD Release Date: February 22, 2000

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Stats: 3,591 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,591)


  • September 29, 2009
    Had huge potential but it pissed it away with bad acting and crap story line!
  • September 28, 2009
    I think this is the third time I've seen Tommy Lee Jones in his "chasing the wrong bad guy" role. The plot feels like a movie you would write in movie-writing class. I wouldn't recommend this movie, but it has its moments in the details.
  • April 20, 2009
    Interesting movie about a man who frames his wife for his murder. She goes to jail but hunts him down when she is on patrol. Great cast. The scene in the coffin is very creepy!
  • May 19, 2008
    good idea for a movie could have worked a whole lot better, it felt like a tv movie of the week special
  • March 28, 2008
    Meh. Mediocre. Cool actors.
  • November 19, 2009
    loved it really creaped me out hope the guy i marry doesnt end up like this mad with power and money
  • November 18, 2009
    Judd is hot. Tommy Lee Jones is good at being old. They shoulda called this movie wheel of foreplay?! AM i RIGHT?!
  • November 3, 2009
    I thought this was a fine action flick, featuring a good mix of vengeance and redemption, and without overdoing the sappiness. Solid acting as well.
  • October 14, 2009
    i cnt get enough of it,,, one of my all time fav
  • September 28, 2009
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Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Moira MacDonald, Film.com

A muddled thriller.

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This movie was made primarily in the hopes that it would gross millions and millions of dollars, which probably explains most of the things that are wrong with it. full review

View more Double Jeopardy reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • mariefuller80
    August 26, 2008
    Two really good lead actors and people I like to watch, plus an on the run "Fugitive" type story.
  • feuetglace
    October 29, 2007
    it's my favorite movie
    i love it!!

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Double Jeopardy Trivia


  • This man has been Under Siege looking for a Fugitive, was Blown Away as Two-Face, learned the Rules Of Engagement to be a U.S Marshall so he could figure out what Double Jeopardy meant, dealth with a Volcano, and was The Man Of The House, who is he?  Answer »
  • What movie was Julia Roberts not in?  Answer »
  • What actress stars in the movie Double Jeopardy?  Answer »
  • In the movie Double Jeopardy, Ashley Judd's character was trying to find her supposedly dead husband to get her son back. What city did she find him in?  Answer »

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