Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a 2009 American crime thriller film written and directed by Peter Hyams, starring Michael Douglas, Jesse Metcalfe and Amber Tamblyn. Based on Fritz Lang's 1956 film of the same name, it was Hyams' second reimagining of an RKO property after 1990's Narrow Margin. In it, a young journalist (Metcalfe) sets himself up as a murderer to expose the unethical practices of a star prosecutor with a trumped up conviction record (Douglas), but finds himself unable to produce the evidence he had prepared to restore his innocence. The film made its worldwide theatrical debut in Spain on July 11, 2009, and was given a limited release in the United States on September 11, 2009. It was negatively received by critics, who found it an uninspired retread of one of Lang's lesser works. Plot Reporter C.J. Nicholas built his career on an award-winning documentary about a pregnant teenage prostitute in Buffalo, New York, who died of an overdose after the death of her baby. Now a TV reporter in Shreveport, Louisiana, he works to reestablish himself through an investigative unit with co-worker Corey Finley. Nicholas is convinced that District Attorney Mark Hunter is corrupt. A former police detective discussed as a candidate for Governor, Hunter built his career on a string of convictions based on last-minute, circumstantial evidence. After Nicholas flirts with Assistant D.A. Ella Crystal to obtain a videotape, they begin dating, despite his distrust of her boss.