Jagged Edge (1986)

I’m a sucker for a Joe Eszterhas script. Frequent collaborator with Paul Verhoeven, Eszterhas is a master of thrashing out erotic thriller screenplays, and Verhoeven has probably directed his best work. Basic Instinct (1992) preceded the commercial and critical flop Showgirls (1995) that may or may not be my favourite Eszterhas film. This precedes both of them, directed by Richard Marquand and starring the always watchable Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close. The film opens with the murder of Bridges wife, and he is subsequently accused of the crime. Enter Glenn Close, who chooses to represent Bridges in court. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a heavy influence on Basic Instinct, which could be called a more popular older sibling of Jagged Edge. Whereas the former is without doubt a savagely erotic thriller, Jagged Edge removes the titillation in favour of what ends up being a courtroom drama. Jagged Edge is good fun, with solid performances, but it lacks the outrageousness of Basic Instinct, and although that film is flawed, it did throw everything at the wall for better or for worse, and Jagged Edge perhaps could have done with a bit of that. 6.9/10