REVIEW: Above Suspicion Does Not Do The True Story Justice
Above Suspicion follows Susan Smith (Emilia Clarke), a drug addict who is trying to find her way out of her lousy town of Pikesville, Kentucky. When Susan finds herself trapped with no way out, she makes a deal with FBI Agent Mark Putnam (Jake Huston). The deal involves Susan becoming an informant for the FBI and, in return, the FBI will help her get out of town. But when the lines between being professional and personal become blurred, Susan may find herself biting off more than she can chew.
Based on the true story of FBI informant Susan Smith, Above Suspicion lacks the gripping pieces needed to captivate the audience. The story of Susan Smith and Agent Putnam is one that made FBI history and this story will make viewers want to forget they ever wasted their time on the film. The story is hard to understand, the motives behind characters’ actions are nowhere to be seen and the pacing can move at such a snail’s pace at times. At the end of the day, a film that should have left audiences memorized, left me bored and confused.
On top of that, none of the characters were likeable, which may or may not have been the point of the film. Because they are so unlikable, I ended up not rooting for any of the characters about 20 minutes into the film. From Clarke’s desperate and obsessive Smith to Huston’s sleazy Putnam, it is hard to believe that this story is based on actual events. The voiceover narration by Clarke was also extremely distracting. It felt unnecessary and did not help drive the plot.
Clarke carries the story as Smith and easily finds a way to bring this anguished character to life. But, her performance is not enough to save this story. Not to mention her southern accent is either non-existent or so mumbled that it is hard to make out what she is saying. Huston’s performance is also good, but he unfortunately runs into the same problem as Clarke. His character is unlikeable and not developed enough for Huston to show off his acting. Johnny Knoxville stars as Smith’s ex-husband, Cash and rather than helping explain why Smith ended up the way she did, he just ended being an unnecessary plot piece.
Above Suspicion is a film that gets lost in translation. There is nothing great about the film nor memorable. I recommend googling Susan Smith if you want to learn more about her and what happened to her. That ended up being more interesting than the actual film.
Grade: D