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The case of Susan Smith is a tragic one. In the ‘70s, as a teenager, Smith hooked up with a Kentucky drug dealer named Kenneth Smith and found herself deeply embedded in the local drug scene, one that was growing with prescription drugs and other illegal substances. In 1987, a young hotshot FBI agent named Mark Putnam moved to the area to try and track down a local bank robber, and he crossed paths with Smith, turning her into an informant that allowed him to break multiple cases in the area. For extra income and a sense of self-importance, Smith was excited to help Putnam, and the two formed a relationship that turned sexual. When Putnam tried to end things after he no longer really needed her, Smith threatened to expose him, and the FBI agent killed his informant girlfriend. He was arrested in 1990 and the case is credited as the first time an FBI agent was convicted of murder. There’s more than enough meat on the bones of this true story for a film like “Above Suspicion,” but director Phillip Noyce can’t figure out how to tell it in a way that's more interesting than a Wikipedia entry.

In this tragically dull recounting of events, Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) plays Smith and a fellow HBO drama alum in Jack Huston ("Boardwalk Empire") plays Putnam. Neither seems quite comfortable in their roles. Clarke does her best to hold it together but is woefully miscast and Noyce can’t get her to the right place regarding the darker issues of this story like addiction, spousal abuse, and shocking violence of the final act. The whole project has a sense of “hillbilly dress-up” not unlike a certain divisive Ron Howard film of last year. Bluntly, and like that film, I never bought that any of these people were real. 

The characters of "Above Suspicion" are not quite hillbilly caricatures but they verge so closely to them that you can see overqualified actors like Clarke struggling against the superficial script and filmmaking choices. Smith’s story is one of violence and broken dreams, one in which she replaced one garbage male with another who she thought was at the other end of the social spectrum but turned out to be just as awful. “Above Suspicion” isn’t brutal enough, it isn’t dark enough, and the stakes don’t feel high enough. It does a disservice to Smith’s story.

As for Huston, he too seems under-directed, playing Putnam as a man who goes through the motions more than he does a monster or even an attention-grabber who so desperately wanted to have it all—the family, the girlfriend, the high-profile arrests, and all only on his own terms. It’s a non-performance from a typically interesting actor who seems bored at times by the entire production. The whole cast feels under-directed outside of Clarke with familiar faces like Sophie Lowe , Johnny Knoxville , and Chris Mulkey barely making an impact. As if to compensate for the flat storytelling, it’s often over-edited and over-shot, with extremely sweaty close-ups meant to increase tension but only calling attention to themselves.

Ultimately, “Above Suspicion” fails the test of a true story film in that reading about the actual case is more interesting than watching the movie about it. Shot ages ago and delayed multiple times, it’s the kind of project that people like Clarke and Huston can walk away from and pretend never really happened. (They probably already have.) It’s just a shame Susan Smith’s story will be a footnote in their careers.

Now playing in select theaters and available on digital platforms.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Above Suspicion (2021)

Rated R for sexual content and drug use throughout, language and some strong violence.

104 minutes

Emilia Clarke as Susan Smith

Jack Huston as Mark

Johnny Knoxville as Cash

Thora Birch as Jolene

Sophie Lowe as Kathy Putnam

Austin Hébert as Randy McCoy

Karl Glusman as Joe-Bea

Omar Benson Miller as Denver Rhodes

• Phillip Noyce

Writer (based on the book by)

• Joe Sharkey
• Chris Gerolmo

Cinematographer

• Elliot Davis
• Martin Nicholson
• Dickon Hinchliffe

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‘Above Suspicion’: Film Review

Cast gutsily against type, Emilia Clarke gives her all to Phillip Noyce's seamy portrait of murdered FBI informant Susan Smith.

By Guy Lodge

Film Critic

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The 1989 murder of Susan Smith is a despairingly grim Southern Gothic story, shot through with reckless sex, institutional corruption and Kentucky-fried local scandal: prime material for the kind of forensic, heavily extended true-crime podcasts (or Netflix-style documentary series) that garner such widespread public fascination these days. At least “Above Suspicion,” a steamed-up, sweat-soaked film adaptation of the material, mercifully rakes over its unsavory details in two hours rather than several. It’s quick, dirty and perhaps more tawdry than it needs to be: There may not be much dignity to be scrounged from the tale of a naive, drug-addicted FBI informant who sleeps with — and is subsequently killed by — her supervising agent, but Chris Gerolmo’s script isn’t at great pains to find the human factor here, and Phillip Noyce ‘s direction coats the whole unhappy affair in cold blue steel.

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What it does have is Emilia Clarke . Not the first name you’d think of to play a downtrodden deadbeat from Pikeville, Ky., the erstwhile Daenerys Targaryen gives Susan Smith a hard, gleaming specificity that the writing sometimes lacks, and manages a creditable bluegrass twang. Her performance is the principal audience hook for a lurid, generically titled downer that has taken its time to reach screens following production in 2017. After a gradual international rollout, “Above Suspicion” was released directly to VOD platforms in the U.K. on July 13; a similar unveiling Stateside likely awaits. Acolytes of veteran genre ace Noyce are likely to find his latest a comfier fit than his last feature, 2014’s miscalculated Lois Lowry adaptation “The Giver,” but several rungs short of his most briskly stylish work.

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“You know what’s the worst thing about being dead? You get too much time to think.” So drawls Clarke’s Susan in the film’s opening moments, cuing a running voiceover heavy on droll epithets, granting the narrator a sort of homespun-yet-omniscient wisdom that she couldn’t have had in real life. The “Sunset Boulevard”-by-way-of-“Gone Girl” tone struck at the outset makes clear that Gerolmo — adapting a book by former New York Times journo Joe Sharkey — and Noyce aren’t after the stoic docudrama brand of true-crime storytelling. Still, the ensuing film is shy of committing either to its rural noir trappings or its hovering air of mordant black comedy. With suspense, from that opening salvo onward, also out of the question, it’s a steady, unsparing march into the abyss.

It’s left to the glimmers of girlish good humor in Clarke’s performance to suggest what other, better life might have awaited Susan had she not been born, under-loved and under-protected, into mining-town hardship, had she not married abusive drug dealer Cash (Johnny Knoxville, effectively stunt-cast) in her teens, and had she not continued living under his roof after their acrimonious divorce. A flinty relationship with her beautician sister (an underused Thora Birch) fills only a few colors into her backstory. Yet the film’s on-location Kentucky shooting, combined with Dickon Hinchliffe’s stark, plucked-strings score (reminiscent of his own work on “Winter’s Bone”), nails down a suitably oppressive sense of place, and of space closing in.

By the time we meet Susan, aged 26 and with enough hard knocks under her belt for twice that number, it’s small wonder that she’ll fall for the first man to show her some semblance of kindness — which just happens to be clean-cut FBI agent Mark Putnam ( Jack Huston ), new in town to track down a local serial bank robber. After a drug bust at Cash and Susan’s grimy home, Mark persuades her to snitch on Pikeville’s underworld; soon enough, they’re embroiled in a torrid, disaster-bound affair to which Mark’s gentle-natured wife Kathy (Sophie Lowe) can’t be entirely oblivious. An actor whose fresh-faced demeanor often implies darker impulses, Huston is well cast as Susan’s spotless-but-slippery exploiter, though we’re kept at a glassy remove from his inner life throughout.

We hardly need Susan’s beyond-the-grave narration, nor the relentless blue-filtered balefulness of Elliot Davis’ lensing, to tell us that nothing here can end well: What morbid pull the film has lies in seeing just how tightly its lovers can corner themselves into their own mutual trap. As such, it’s not dull, living up to the grabby, spoilers-upfront headline value of its “Fed murders informant” premise. But it’s never emotionally involving either, not least because, despite Clarke’s gumption, there’s little connective character tissue between Susan the spiraling victim and Susan the world-weary narrator of her own demise. Like many a paradoxical true-crime entertainment, “Above Suspicion” has scarcely more than a tabloid’s passing interest in the life behind the death.

Reviewed online, London, July 13, 2020. Running time: 104 MIN.

• Production: An MTAF, White Knight presentation in association with Sierra/Affinity of a Colleen Camp, MTAF, White Knight production in association with Bold Films. Producers: Colleen Camp, Angela Amato Velez, Amy Adelson, Tim Degraye, Mohamed Alrafi. Executive producers: Michel Litvak, Gary Michael Walters, Bob Yari, Linda Bruckheimer, Chris Gerolmo.
• Crew: Director: Phillip Noyce. Screenplay: Chris Gerolmo, adapted from the book by Joe Sharkey. Camera: Elliot Davis. Editor: Martin Nicholson. Music: Dickon Hinchliffe.
• With: Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston, Sophie Lowe, Johnny Knoxville, Thora Birch, Austin Hebert, Karl Glusman, Chris Mulkey, Omar Benson Miller, Kevin Dunn, Brian Lee Franklin, Brittany O'Grady, Luke Spencer Roberts.

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Above Suspicion Review: Emilia Clarke Stuns in Backwoods True Crime Thriller

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Emilia Clarke single-handedly lifts Above Suspicion with a gritty and brutal performance. The film is adapted from an infamous true crime that took place decades ago in the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains. An illicit affair between an informant and an FBI agent spins out of control with tragic consequences. Above Suspicion is loaded with drugs, sex, and violence, but plays out like a tawdry cable movie of the week.

Emilia Clarke stars as Susan Smith. In 1988 Pikeville, Kentucky, Smith lived in a trailer park with her two children and drug dealer ex-husband, Cash (Johnny Knoxville). She was beaten regularly, addicted to cocaine, and a welfare cheat to support her family. Smith yearned for a better life, but could never escape the sinkhole of her surroundings. She and Cash hosted drug-fueled parties with local hooligans.

Jack Huston co-stars as Mark Putnam, a recently promoted FBI agent with a young wife (Sophie Lowe) and newborn daughter. Putnam despised his transfer to Pikeville, but saw it as an opportunity for advancement. A bank robber had hit eleven banks in the area. While researching the crime, he came into contact with Cash and Susan Smith. Putnam soon realizes that Susan lived at the nexus for drugs and theft. She was utterly smitten by the handsome Putnam. But becoming an FBI informant was dangerous business. Snitches were despised and didn't last long in the Kentucky hills.

Above Suspicion succeeds in its harrowing portrayal of Susan Smith . She was a product of her environment. Criminality, domestic violence, and addiction was an accepted fate; anything to dull the drudgery of her existence. Mark Putnam represented a clean-cut, sophisticated way out. He was everything she dreamed of in a man. She saw a better life for herself and her children through him. Putnam was intoxicated by her smoldering sexuality and ability to further his professional goals. The film clearly defines their disparate agendas. She desperately needed escape, but was inexorably drawn further into a worse situation.

Above Suspicion puts a lot of emphasis on salacious details, but not enough on exposition. The supporting characters are either hillbilly law enforcement officers or coke-snorting rubes. Smith's sister (Thora Birch) has a semblance of normality, but gets mere minutes of screen time. Australian director Phillip Noyce ( Patriot Games , The Bone Collector ) gets bogged down in the filth of the narrative. Too much character development is left on the table. An initially intriguing scene between Smith and Putnam's wife had the possibility of serious dramatic depth. But instead of exploring further, the bumpkin drugs and sex rages back to the forefront.

Emilia Clarke displays significant range in this gutsy role. She portrays Susan Smith as desperate, naive, and foolishly impetuous. Clarke is beaten to a pulp in several graphic, stomach-churning scenes. She gives it her all in this film. Even her Southern accent is flawless. You couldn't get further away from Game of Thrones ' dragon-riding Daenerys Targaryen or the guns-blazing Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys . Above Suspicion is worth seeing as a showcase for her talent. The film is currently in theaters and available for digital download from Lionsgate with a DVD/Blu-ray release on May 18th.

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‘above suspicion’: film review.

Phillip Noyce adapts Joe Sharkey's true-crime book 'Above Suspicion,' about an FBI agent (Jack Huston) who has an affair with his informant (Emilia Clarke).

By John DeFore

John DeFore

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A Kentucky drug dealer ( Emilia Clarke ) sees an FBI agent (Jack Huston) as her romantic gateway out of a dead-end life in Phillip Noyce ‘s Above Suspicion , an adaptation of Joe Sharkey’s account of true events in 1988-89.

Completed in 2017, the film could have been released at the height of Clarke’s Game of Thrones popularity. But Sharkey’s own website describes (in the author’s words) a “distribution clusterf***” in which random international theatrical engagements have left the film vulnerable to piracy long before its release in the West. A hoped-for U.S. opening in May was scuttled by the novel coronavirus, while U.K. distributors are releasing on streaming starting this week.

A release three years ago would also have helped the film thematically, as its setting — economically devastated coal country where, according to Clarke’s Susan Smith, the funeral business and the drug trade are the only ways to make any money — foreshadows an opioid crisis that, by this point, has already been the focus of several big-screen dramas. Susan isn’t merely a partner with her ex-husband in supplying pills and powders to neighbors every payday; she’s also engaged in some sort of welfare fraud, drawing checks from multiple states. She’s a peach.

But one day, as she’s walking down the sidewalk swigging cough syrup, a lightning bolt hits her. As she puts it in a voiceover the film relies on heavily throughout, she sees a man who seems to have stepped out of the perfect world of a fashion magazine. Mark Putnam (Jack Huston) is a straight-arrow G-man, newly arrived at the Pikeville, Kentucky, FBI office with wife Kathy (Sophie Lowe) and infant in tow. Hoping to be promoted to a sunnier burg in no more than two years, he immediately sets his sights on catching a serial bank robber.

But first, another crime brings Putnam to the trailer Susan still shares with former husband Cash (Johnny Knoxville). Cash is an ex-con with plenty of trouble hanging over his head, but the next couple of scenes find him, at Susan’s urging, behaving as if he has the upper hand in interactions with the feds.

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Susan mostly reads like a femme fatale in these scenes — she sticks her foot in Putnam’s crotch and stares intensely while she and Cash are sitting at a dinner table across from him. But the movie needs her to be more vulnerable than that: As the story develops and Susan becomes Agent Putnam’s informant, we’re meant to believe that she’s genuinely committed to a fantasy in which she’ll win his heart, have his babies, kick drugs and start anew, far from this hellhole. But it’s often unclear if Clarke agrees with this take on the character. Susan’s smoldering come-ons look calculated, and she generally seems to see too many of the angles to really believe in fairy tales.

Susan does get Mark into bed, of course, and if this lifelong good boy feels guilty, Huston does a fine job of hiding it from us. Soon they’re sampling every motel and back seat available within an hour’s drive. When developments at work and home give Mark multiple reasons to pull away from her, Chris Gerolmo’s script sends Susan tumbling toward Fatal Attraction -grade obsession — even if Noyce ( The Giver , Salt ) has too much taste to make this an exploitation flick as emotions turn violent.

Though tech values and supporting performances (especially Knoxville’s) are unimpeachable, Suspicion doesn’t conjure its setting as persuasively as some of the other drug-centric rural dramas we’ve seen lately. Susan spends a fair bit of time telling us and others about the place’s gravitational pull, and whenever the story hops to a nearby small town, title cards inform us how many miles away from Pikeville we are. But the town isn’t real enough to have this kind of power — or to turn a woman as steely as Susan into a sap.

Production companies: Colleen Camp, MTAF, White Knight Distributor: Roadside Attractions Cast: Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston, Sophie Lowe, Johnny Knoxville, Austin Hebert, Thora Birch, Karl Glusman Director: Phillip Noyce Screenwriter: Chris Gerolmo Producers: Colleen Camp, Tim Degraye, Mohamed AlRafi Director of photography: Elliot Davis Production designer: Laurence Bennett Costume designer: Nancy Collini Editor: Martin Nicholson Composer: Dickon Hinchliffe Casting directors: Jackie Burch, Samy Burch

R, 104 minutes

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Above Suspicion Review

17 Jul 2020

Above Suspicion

In a southern mining town in 1989, pregnant mother-of-two Susan Smith was found murdered after serving as an informant in an FBI investigation. Above Suspicion , from Patriot Games director Phillip Noyce, tells the true-life tale of Smith’s (Emilia Clarke) death and the harrowing events leading up to it – how she was recruited by ambitious agent Mark Putnam (Jack Huston), how their relationship turned romantic, and how she soon became entangled in an exploitative game of drug busts and deception. It’s an enveloping if stately paced thriller that doubles up as a portrait of a broken America: one where impoverished people fall into addiction, then into crime and finally into the witness stand, only to be failed by the people meant to protect and serve them.

Emilia Clarke is impressive as the film’s spiralling protagonist, revealed to be dead in the movie’s Lovely Bones -esque opening scene. Narrating from beyond the grave, in a convincing Kentucky drawl that’s less Daenerys and more Dolly Parton, the next 90 minutes recount Smith’s final months, in which the Game Of Thrones star is a hurricane of smudged mascara and Percocet bottles. Trapped in a trailer with her abusive ex-husband Cash (Johnny Knoxville) and desperately seeking a way out, she sees salvation in Mark Putnam, a hotshot federal agent who promises her money for rehab in return for information. He’s married. She’s entranced – captivated by his middle-class life, so different from hers on the bottom rung of society. “Like a picture in a magazine,” her voiceover swoons.

An enveloping thriller that doubles up as a portrait of a broken America.

As things sour, Above Suspicion walks a tricky line, attempting to both cook up sizzling sexual chemistry between Smith and Putnam while acknowledging the manipulative, dangerous dimension to their relationship. Some will have trouble with the film’s lack of condemnation for Huston’s Putnam, who’s granted a moral redemption here that isn’t consistent with real-life events. Others, expecting Fincher-level sophistication or The Girl On The Train -ish pulpy thrills, might also be disappointed by the film’s slow-burn unspooling of Smith’s story. This isn’t a twisty nail-biter. It’s a sobering story of a woman deemed disposable.

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Movies | 17 07 2020

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Above suspicion, common sense media reviewers.

Stale drama about gripping true story; violence, language.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The story of Mark Putnam and Susan Smith led to ch

Mark Putnam's wife, Kathy, supports her husband fo

Some domestic violence. A woman gets brutally beat

Some sex scenes in darkness. No direct nudity. Als

Strong language throughout includes: "f--k," "f---

Drugs are consistently around, seen, used, and tal

Parents need to know that Above Suspicion is a not-for-kids drama about an FBI agent becoming inappropriately involved with an informant. Based on a true story, starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston, this thriller has strong violence, sexual content (but no nudity), and lots of drinking, drugs, and smoking…

Positive Messages

The story of Mark Putnam and Susan Smith led to changes in how the FBI treats informants.

Positive Role Models

Mark Putnam's wife, Kathy, supports her husband for a long time. Mark admits to his crimes.

Violence & Scariness

Some domestic violence. A woman gets brutally beaten, hit, punched, kicked, choked, and thrown by a man accusing her of sleeping around. People get shot by guns. One bloodied man lies on the ground in the street, bleeding out. There are fights: a woman gets beaten by a bunch of others at a bar, at a party a fight breaks out, in a car a man and a woman fight until the man kills her by choking her, bashing her head against the car window, and breaking her neck. Guns are used in bank robberies. A man has a Molotov cocktail shot out of his hand, it explodes, and he's set aflame.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Some sex scenes in darkness. No direct nudity. Also, a montage of sex scenes showing different places and positions. People have sex in a car. A man receives oral sex on a couch from a woman. A woman presses her shoe into a man's crotch. Adults often talk about sex and relationships, including graphic sexual dialogue. For example, one of main characters and narrator says, "If she won't suck your d--k at the movies, what's [a woman] worth?"

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language throughout includes: "f--k," "f---ing," "s--t," "c--ksucker," "c--k," "d--k," "bitch," "slut," "whore," "ass," "goddamn," "crap," "Christ," and "God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Drugs are consistently around, seen, used, and talked about, with cocaine use, smoking weed, and taking pills (Percocet by name and others unnamed) the most frequent. Adults also frequently drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. A handful of scenes show drunk people.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Above Suspicion is a not-for-kids drama about an FBI agent becoming inappropriately involved with an informant. Based on a true story, starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston , this thriller has strong violence, sexual content (but no nudity), and lots of drinking, drugs, and smoking. There are scenes of domestic violence and other scenes where a woman is beaten up, hit, punched, kicked, and hurt. There is blood, gunshots and bullet wounds, fights and brawls in bars and at parties. Adults often do and talk about drugs (cocaine and weed primarily), smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and are often seen high and/or drunk. There are frequent sexual references and graphic sexual dialogue, as well as a sex scene montage. Explicit language throughout: "f--k," "f---ing," "s--t," "c--ksucker," "c--k," "d--k," "bitch," "slut," "whore," "ass," "goddamn," "crap," "Christ," and "God." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In ABOVE SUSPICION, FBI agent Mark Putnam ( Jack Huston ) arrives in a small town to stop a local bank robber. He eventually nabs and turns informant Susan ( Emilia Clarke ), an addict and ex-partner of a man of interest named Cash ( Johnny Knoxville ). Susan and Mark proceed to work together, agent and informant, until bad things start to happen. How far will Mark go to protect his reputation and family? How far will Susan go for her chance at a new life?

Is It Any Good?

This movie is based on a true story, but unfortunately it's a poor recreation of the real thing. While Above Suspicion valiantly tries to equal its real-life counterpart in terms of shock and awe, most of the drama that leads up to the end feels stale and uninspired. Also based on Joe Sharkey's book, likewise called Above Suspicion, this film adaptation feels like it can't decide whether Susan is victim or villain, and the same goes for Mark Putnam. Because of this, it's hard to root for either of them, as they aren't particularly likable and the film can't decide either. Further, the film can't decide whether it should be didactic or simply a tragedy. Perhaps different decisions like these wouldn't make this film better, but it's hard to not think of them: more realistic and less cliched dialogue, simpler shots, tonal confidence in artsy or realist presentation, tighter pacing, etc.

Clarke and Huston do an admirable job trying to make their characters work, but whether the directing or writing or both, they just can't quite seem to get their characters right. Their chemistry doesn't feel great, neither does their romance, and Huston doesn't do enough to come across as charming as the real Mark Putnam. Clarke's Susan is often a fierce ball of fire, but also too often she burns too bright, perhaps from proverbially flying too close to the sun. Surprisingly, the best performance goes to Johnny Knoxville's Cash, whose subtle, smoldering menace threatens to explode at any moment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about violence in thriller and drama movies. Some moments in Above Suspicion are particularly brutal. How did these violent scenes affect your opinion of the characters involved?

Discuss domestic violence and violence toward women in film. At what point does showing these brutal acts become problematic? Does this film responsibly represent domestic violence? How does the film represent Susan's understanding of violence?

The real Mark Putnam, like the film says, confessed to his crime, eventually. He then served his time in prison and was released in 2000. Do you think Mark Putnam is a good person even though he did what he did? Why or why not?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 24, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : May 18, 2021
• Cast : Emilia Clarke , Jack Huston , Sophie Lowe , Johnny Knoxville
• Director : Phillip Noyce
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 104 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : Sexual content and drug use throughout, language and some strong violence.
• Last updated : May 16, 2023

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‘Above Suspicion’: Review

By Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic 2021-05-05T07:00:00+01:00

Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston saddle up for Phillip Noyce’s long-delayed hillbilly noir

Source: Lionsgate

‘Above Suspicion’

Dir: Phillip Noyce. US. 2017. 105 mins.

Lionsgate’s hillbilly noir Above Suspicion initially promises to be dark, trashy fun, but despite a game performance from Emilia Clarke as a seductress infatuated with a married FBI agent, neither the milieu nor the plotting turns out to be particularly steamy. Based on actual events, director Phillip Noyce’s thriller struggles to convince as a study in moral rot, and is equally underwhelming in its depiction of an unhappy woman trying to escape her dead-end existence. The long-delayed picture, which finally arrives in the US four years after it was shot, may be of marginal interest to true-crime fans, although many will suspect that this lukewarm tale of sex, drugs and obsession isn’t worth seeking out. The story’s tawdry hook — a federal agent has an affair with his informant, leading to disaster — may very well be the picture’s chief selling point.

One more obsessive-stalker thriller in which the woman is dismissed as deranged.

Taking place in the late 1980s in small-town Kentucky, Above Suspicion introduces us to Susan (Clarke), a mother and addict forced to live under the same roof as her drug-dealing ex-husband Cash (Johnny Knoxville) because she can’t afford her own place. A local masked bank robber has successfully pulled off a string of heists, which brings married FBI agent Mark Putnam (Jack Huston) to town to find the culprit. He soon crosses paths with Susan, and his conviction that Cash is somehow involved in these robberies prompts him to offer her a chance to become an informant in exchange for a new life far away. But this arrangement gets complicated once they start sleeping together  — and she begins to envision a world in which they can be together permanently.

Chris Gerolmo’s screenplay, adapted from New York Times reporter Joe Sharkey’s nonfiction book, emphasises this thriller’s regional flavour. We sense the desperation of these working-class characters, who have few economic opportunities and need to turn to illegal activities to make ends meet. In such an environment, it’s no surprise that a scrappy survivor like Susan is hungry to break free — seeing in the dreamy, ethically slippery Mark someone who can rescue her.

In the film’s early stages, Clarke and Huston have such a sultry rapport that it’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll soon forget his wedding vows and take her to bed. Despite her Southern accent being a bit white-trash cartoonish, Clarke capably conveys Susan’s cold calculation and guarded vulnerability, at first scheming to seduce Mark so he can help her, but then falling in love with him.

The problem is that their relationship is so underdeveloped that it’s hard to know what — beyond sexual attraction — draws them together. That deficiency becomes an increasingly troublesome issue once Susan begins insinuating herself into Mark’s life, befriending his wife Kathy (Sophie Lowe), who knows that she’s an informant but not that they’re having an affair. Clarke brings such steeliness to the role that it’s disappointing that the filmmakers eventually reduce her character to being “crazy”, turning Above Suspicion into one more obsessive-stalker thriller in which the woman is dismissed as deranged.

With its use of moody sex scenes and hardboiled voiceover (courtesy of Susan), the picture aims for a noir-ish quality in which morally dubious individuals try to best one another to get what they want. And to be sure, cinematographer Elliot Davis and production designer Laurence Bennett effectively play up the setting’s southern decay, giving us a landscape of beat-up flatbed trucks, dilapidated lower-income homes and gloomy forests.

As befitting the premise, hotshot FBI agent Mark assumes he can outmanoeuvre these rubes, only to find himself sinking deeper and deeper into metaphorical quicksand once it becomes too difficult to extricate himself from the clingy Susan. But because Mark is so thinly drawn, there’s no sense that this seemingly noble character has experienced a dramatic fall from grace.

In an era of true-crime documentaries, the film’s sordid intrigue, which eventually results in murder and betrayal, perhaps would play better in an extended nonfiction streaming series, allowing viewers to savour every seedy plot twist. As it is, Above Suspicion simply feels too familiar in its depiction of small-town sin — this saga of obsessive behaviour is surprisingly easy to shrug off.

Production companies: Colleen Camp Productions, 50 Degrees Entertainment White Knight

International sales: Sierra/Affinity

Producers: Angela Amato Velez, Amy Adelson, Tim Degraye, Mohamed Alrafi, Colleen Camp

Screenplay: Chris Gerolmo, based on the book Above Suspicion by Joe Sharkey

Production design: Laurence Bennett

Editing: Martin Nicholson

Cinematography: Elliot Davis

Music: Dickon Hinchliffe

Main cast: Jack Huston, Emilia Clarke, Sophie Lowe, Austin Hebert, Karl Glusman, Chris Mulkey, Omar Miller, Kevin Dunn, Thora Birch, Johnny Knoxville

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CULTURE MIX

Where Lifestyle Cultures Blend

Review: ‘Above Suspicion’ (2021), starring Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston and Johnny Knoxville

Arts and Entertainment

Above Suspicion , Brian Lee Franklin , Brittany O'Grady , Chris Mulkey , drama , Emilia Clarke , Jack Huston , Johnny Knoxville , Karl Glusman , Kentucky , Landon Durrance , Lex Kelli , Luke Spencer Roberts , Mark Putnam , movies , Omar Benson Miller , Phillip Noyce , reviews , Sophie Lowe , Susan Smith , Thora Birch , true crime

May 30, 2021

by Carla Hay

“Above Suspicion” (2021)

Directed by Phillip Noyce

Culture Representation:  Taking place in Kentucky from 1988 to 1989, the crime drama “Above Suspicion” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and criminal underground.

Culture Clash:  A drug-addicted woman becomes a confidential informant to the FBI, and complications ensue when she gets emotionally involved with the FBI agent who is her contact.

Culture Audience:  “Above Suspicion” will appeal mostly to people who don’t mind watching predictable and pulpy crime movies that put more emphasis on being tacky than being suspenseful.

The cheap-looking and tawdry drama “Above Suspicion” is based on a true crime story, but the movie foolishly gives away the ending at the very beginning of the film. In other words, if viewers don’t know what happened in this case in real life, they’ll know exactly what the outcome is in the movie’s opening scene, which has a morbid “voice from the dead” narration from the movie’s main character. “Above Suspicion” just goes downhill from there.

Directed by Phillip Noyce, “Above Suspicion” is one of those “flashback” movies where the narrator is telling what happened in the past. And in this movie (which takes place in 1988 and 1989), the narrator tells viewers that she’s already dead. Her name is Susan Smith (played by Emilia Clarke), a divorced mother of two children. She was in her late 20s when she died.

In these flashbacks of her life, Susan is a cocaine-snorting, pill-popping, marijuana-smoking ne’er do well who makes money by committing fraud. She’s been collecting government welfare checks from the state of West Virginia, which she’s not entitled to have because she actually lives in Kentucky, where she gets welfare checks too. And occasionally, Susan sells drugs to make money.

In the movie’s opening scene, Susan says in a voiceover: “You know what’s the worst thing about being dead? You get too much time to think. Thinking is painful. Knowing things is painful.”

To serve as a warning to viewers, a better way to open this movie would have been: “You know what’s the worst thing about a brain-dead movie? It wastes too much time. Watching it is painful. Knowing this movie could be so much better is painful.”

And sitting through all the cringeworthy lines that stink up this movie is painful. Chris Gerolmo wrote the “Above Suspicion” screenplay, which is based on journalist Joe Sharkey’s 1993 non-fiction book of the same name. People who’ve read that book will probably find this movie difficult to watch because it takes what was fascinating about this true crime book and turns it into a trashy melodrama.

Clarke, who is British in real life, attempts to give a believable and edgy performance as a Kentucky mother who’s lost her way in life and ends up falling for and clinging to a seemingly straight-laced married FBI agent. But there are moments when Clarke’s true British mannerisms come through, such as when she slips up and says the word “whilst” instead of “while” during one of the many scenes where her Susan character is yelling at someone. “Whilst” is not the kind of word that would be in the vocabulary of a Kentucky hillbilly like Susan.

Because “Above Suspicion” reveals in the opening scene that Susan is dead, the rest of this 104-minute movie is really just a countdown to Susan’s death. Given the lifestyle that she leads and what’s at stake when Susan gets involved with a married FBI agent with a squeaky-clean reputation, it’s not hard to figure out how she’ll die. And it won’t be from a drug overdose. If viewers don’t know what happened to the real Susan Smith in this case before they see “Above Suspicion,” it’ll become pretty obvious what her fate will be soon after this movie begins.

Susan lives in a dirty and disheveled house in Pikeville, Kentucky, with her sleazy ex-husband Cash (played by Johnny Knoxville), who’s a small-time drug dealer. They’re still living together because they can’t afford to get their own separate places. (In real life, the name of Susan’s ex-husband was Kenneth, but he really was a drug dealer.) Susan and Cash’s two children—an unnamed daughter who’s 7 or 8 years old (played by Lex Kelli) and a son named Isom who’s 5 or 6 years old (played by Landon Durrance)—don’t say much, probably because they’re shell-shocked by living in such a dysfunctional home.

Someone who does talk a lot is Susan. She and Cash have arguments and physical fights with each other, and she gets irritable or impatient with almost anyone who crosses her path, except for her children. Two other people who live in Susan and Cash’s dumpy house are an unemployed couple in their 20s: Joe B. (played by Karl Glusman) and his girlfriend Georgia Beale (played by Brittany O’Grady), who don’t seem to do much but sleep all day. Joe met Cash when they were in prison together. Cash is the one who invited Joe to stay at the house after Joe got out of prison. Needless to say, Susan isn’t very happy about it.

In one of the movie’s early scenes, Joe makes inappropriate sexual comments to Susan, who understandably gets upset. Joe also calls her “Susie,” which she hates. But then, Susan also takes her anger out on Georgia about it. Susan bursts into the room where Georgia is sleeping and berates her about Joe being a creep. As Susan storms back out of the room, she screams at Georgia, “Pay me my rent money, bitch!”

Joe actually has been making money, but in an illegal way. He’s secretly a bank robber who has been targeting banks in cities near Pikeville, with Georgia’s help as his occasional getaway driver. Susan knows this secret because Joe’s red Chevy pickup truck fits the news media’s description of the getaway car. And she’s found Joe’s stash of cash with the guns that were used in the robberies.

“Above Suspicion” has some druggie party scenes that are exactly what people might expect. And it’s only a matter of time before fights break out at these parties. Susan’s volatile younger brother Bones (played by Luke Spencer Roberts) predictably gets in one of these fights, which leads to a particularly violent scene that was fabricated for this movie, just to add more melodrama.

Susan says in a voiceover: “Welcome to Pikeville, the town that never lets go.” She also says that in Pikeville, which is plagued by drug addiction, there are two main ways that people make money: “the funeral business or selling drugs.” And earlier in the film, this is how Susan describes herself: “I was a regular girl once. But things go wrong, as things will.”

Susan’s life takes a fateful turn when she meets Mark Putnam (played by Jack Huston), an ambitious and fairly new FBI agent, who has transferred to Pikeville to investigate the bank robberies. When Susan first sees Mark, who’s two years older than she is, she describes him like a hunk straight out of a romance novel. It’s lust at first sight for Susan.

And when Susan finds out that Mark is the FBI agent leading the investigation into the robberies, she sees it as an opportunity to get to know him better. It isn’t long before she drops hints to Mark that she knows who the bank robber is, but she’s afraid to be exposed as a snitch. Mark offers to pay Susan for bits and pieces of information, and she becomes his main confidential informant.

Susan dangles enough tips for Mark to investigate to keep him coming back for more. There’s an ulterior motive, of course. Susan wants to seduce Mark. And because Mark is so different from the men she’s used to being involved with, Susan starts to fall in love with him. However, it’s debatable whether it’s true love or if it’s Susan just wanting a ticket out of her dead-end life. At one point, when Mark asks Susan what she wants most in her life, she answers, “Rehab and money.”

Susan knows that Mark is happily married and has a baby daughter with his wife Kathy Putnam (played by Sophie Lowe), but that doesn’t seem to deter Susan from having a fantasy that Mark will eventually leave Kathy to be with Susan. When Susan and Mark meet in out-of-the-way and deserted places in other Kentucky cities such as Portersville and Martin, it’s just like the clandestine way that secret lovers meet. Susan starts to tell Mark that they both make a great team, but she wants to make their “partnership” about more than FBI work.

“Above Suspicion” portrays Susan as toning down some of her vulgar and mean-spirited ways to try to seduce Mark. She gives him a lot of flattery and attention. And anyone watching this movie will not be surprised when Mark starts to fall for Susan too because he’s become slightly bored with his marriage. But Mark doesn’t feel so strongly about Susan that he wants to leave his wife. Mark has a big ego, and he enjoys being with someone who fuels that ego. Huston’s portrayal of Mark is as someone whose top priority in life is being the best at his job and getting recognition and praise for it.

Even if Mark were an available bachelor, Mark and Susan’s relationship has too many other issues, including a power imbalance and a difference in their social classes. And most troubling of all for Mark’s career is that getting sexually involved with Susan is a breach of ethics and an automatic compromise of the evidence that Mark is getting from her for this investigation. And once the investigation is over, where does Susan fit into Mark’s life?

Clarke and Huston (who is also British in real life) aren’t terrible in their roles, but they are hindered by a subpar screenplay. Huston’s Mark character is often written as two-dimensional, while Clarke’s Susan character displays over-the-top trashiness that becomes increasingly annoying, especially when Susan begins stalking Mark and his wife Kathy. It’s supposed to make Susan look emotionally needy, lovesick and vulnerable, but her obsession with Mark only makes her look mentally unhinged. As for Knoxville, his abusive Cash character is just another version of the scumbags that Knoxville usually portrays in movies.

There are some supporting characters in the movie that don’t add much to the story. Susan has a concerned older sister named Jolene (played by Thora Birch), who lives in West Virginia and occasionally calls Susan. Mark has a colleague named Todd Eason (played by Chris Mulkey), who’s retiring from the FBI in six months. There are an informant named Denver Rhodes (played by Omar Benson Miller) and an international drug dealer named Rufus (played by Brian Lee Franklin), who both appear in the last third of the movie.

Noyce’s direction of “Above Suspicion” aims for the movie to be gritty noir, but it’s really just low-budget junk. It’s very easy to predict how this story is going to end. And until that ending, which Susan already blabbed about in the voiceover narration, it’s just one scene after another of contrasting Susan’s riff-raff life with Mark’s law-enforcement life. These two worlds end up crashing in the most horrific of ways. And it’s too bad that the overall result is that “Above Suspicion” is a cinematic train wreck.

Lionsgate released “Above Suspicion” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on May 14, 2021. The movie was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 18, 2021.

• AV Undercover

Above Suspicion is beneath everyone involved—especially Emilia Clarke

Note: The writer of this review watched Above Suspicion on a digital screener from home. Before making the decision to see it—or any other film—in a movie theater, please consider the health risks involved. Here’s an interview on the matter with scientific experts.

Shot way back in 2016, but only now reaching American theaters and digital services, Above Suspicion plays exactly like a movie you’d expect to sit on the shelf for years, no one pushing hard for its release. The film appears to be a labor of love for producer Colleen Camp, the veteran Clue and Police Academy actor who optioned its source material—a 1993 nonfiction book by Joe Sharkey—two decades ago. Shockingly, it’s directed by Phillip Noyce, who once upon a time helmed big-budget studio thrillers starring Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie. Noyce and the cast (which includes reliable folk like Thora Birch, Chris Mulkey, and Veep ’s Kevin Dunn) are mostly stuck with a lazy-ass script by Chris Gerolmo ( Mississippi Burning ) that presents the real-life players (especially the Kentucky residents) as one-note ignorant sociopaths making dumb decisions at the worst possible times.

Above Suspicion , maybe the 30th movie to use that title, is a major step down for everyone involved: the cast, the director, even cinematographer Eliot Davis, who had a nice run in the ’90s DPing Steven Soderbergh projects. (He does what he can here, capturing most of the action in bleak, depressing blues.) The movie is told from Smith’s perspective—Clarke narrates in a down-home voice-over—and we’re clearly meant to sympathize with her, even when she goes into Fatal Attraction mode and infiltrates her lover’s home, getting chummy with his wife (Sophie Lowe). She’s a hard character to root for, regardless if you know how this true-crime story ends. As if nervous our sympathy might indeed wane, the film piles on needlessly, gratuitously brutal scenes in the second half of Smith getting the holy hell beaten out of her.

Who told British actresses they could only prove themselves in the States by playing miserable women with rural accents, trapped in squalid hellhole lives? It’s disheartening to see Clarke as a coked-up lost soul, basically stuck in her own trailer park nightmare. (The choppy party scenes, in particular, are just so bush league.) Often teetering between seductive and sinister, she brings some longing to the role, playing someone so desperate to get away from her putrid surroundings that she’s willing to snitch on her own and break up a man’s happy home. For all the star’s efforts, though, Above Suspicion will mostly just appeal to the crowd that found Hillbilly Elegy compelling. Everyone else will be left wishing they could see Khaleesi fly high and free again.

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Emilia Clarke starred in Above Suspicion , a crime film based on a true story, but many aspects were fictionalized. Clarke played the real-life murder victim, Susan Smith, a drug dealer from Kentucky who had an affair with FBI agent Mark Putnam when he hired her to help him catch bank robber Carl Edward "Cat Eyes" Lockhart. The film is based on the non-fiction book Above Suspicion: An Undercover FBI Agent, an Illicit Affair, and a Murder of Passion by Joe Sharkey. The author stuck to his facts while telling the real-life story, but as Hollywood does best, the film made some sacrifices.

Clarke is joined by Jack Huston as Mark Putnam, Sophie Lowe as his wife, Kathy Putnam, and, surprisingly, Jackass star Johnny Knoxville who put on an unexpectedly impressive performance as Smith's husband. Above Suspicion was given only a 38% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed a worldwide Box Office total of $25,396. The film does its best to stay true to the most important facts but should not be viewed by anyone searching for the real story. Above Suspicion adds a lot for entertainment purposes, including fake characters and fabricated events in order to make it more entertaining for audiences to watch.

6 Above Suspicion Changed Character Names

Likely for legal reasons or to protect the real people involved and their families, some of the names in Above Suspicion were changed. Most of the main characters kept their names, with Susan Smith, Mark Putnam, and Kathy Putnam all using the real-life inspirations' names. However, Susan's ex-husband in real life was named Kenneth Smith, and the film changed his name to Cash. A more significant change was the name of the bank robber Putnam was after. In real life, his name was Carl Edward "Cat Eyes" Lockhart, but the Above Suspicion film changed his name to Joe-Bea. The film also changed Susan's sister's name from Shelby Ward to Jolene. However, the name changes didn't take away from the film's message and were actually some of the least crucial changes the film made.

Related: What Each Above Suspicion Character Looks Like In Real Life

5 Above Suspicion Gives Susan A Narrative

The film gives a voice to Smith by allowing her to narrate, which the book obviously couldn't provide because of Smith's death. However, giving Smith a perspective makes a big difference to the story. Since Sharkey spoke with Putnam when writing his book, the information was from the FBI agent's perspective, but the film allows Smith a chance to tell her story, even if it's only an assumption of Smith might be saying from the afterlife. After all, she was the victim of murder, and he was the one who committed it. While he did confess out of guilt, proving he's not soulless, this doesn't excuse his crimes.

The film paints Smith as a lost soul who was manipulated and flattered by a man in a position of power, which was more relevant to the time period of the film's release in 2019, while the book was published in 1993. While Smith was not innocent, as she was involved in a world of drug dealing and crime and also had an affair with a married man, it's natural to have compassion for her, and the film leaned into this by manipulating the narrative instead of keeping its tone neutral, which would have been more accurate.

4 Above Suspicion Fabricated The Bones Shooting Scene

Before Smith and Putnam even meet, Smith's brother, nicknamed Bones, is involved in a shooting at a party, but there's no evidence this ever happened, and it seems to be completely fabricated for entertainment purposes. In fact, while Smith's sister was involved in getting her story out and has her own beliefs about why Putnam really killed Smith, there's no evidence Smith has a younger brother with the nickname Bones, and the character was likely made up for the film to add to its plot and Smith's dangerous, lifestyle.

It might seem like an odd thing for the film to make up, but just because a film says it's based on a true story doesn't mean anyone should take it as a fact. Even if Above Suspicion kept Smith's name, her character, and her character's story is pretty fictional.

3 Above Suspicion Added In Fictional Characters

Above Suspicion added in Bones and a few other characters too. One is Randy McCoy. The officer may have been based on Albert "Bert" Hatfield, but his story is different, making it seem he's more of a fictional character than someone based on a real person involved in the case. In real life, Hatfield knew Smith, but in the film, McCoy doesn't seem to know her at all. If McCoy was based on Hartfield, this would be an important detail to include as it would have added context to the story.

2 Above Suspicion Doesn't Explore Shelby Ward's Theory

Putnam's story says he killed Smith because she told him she was pregnant, and he was afraid of his wife finding out and afraid of the affair ruining his life. He claims he confessed to the murder a year after committing it because the guilt was eating him alive. However, Ward doesn't believe him. Ward declined to speak to Sharkey while he was writing the book, so he couldn't include any of her theories or her perspective. However, she's come forward with her thoughts on the experience since.

Ward believes Putnam was involved in even worse crimes than killing her sister and confessing to her murder was his way of covering up past crimes that could have gotten him in more trouble. Putnam only received 16 years in prison for Smith's murder and got out after serving only 10 because of his good behavior. There's no evidence Ward's theory is true, but it would have been interesting if Above Suspicion explored Ward's beliefs, even if it was only a brief scene at the end of the film.

1 How Accurate Is The Above Suspicion Movie?

While the general plot is based on a real story, Above Suspicion took a lot of creative liberty in order to add suspense. It also adds in a few false aspects for dramatic effect to make the story more interesting. The scene with Bones is a great example, as well as the way the film changed names and put characters in situations that didn't actually happen.

However, Above Suspicion did stick to some facts, like Smith calling Putnam's wife regularly and the argument that led to her murder. The ending is also questionable, as what was said during the fight was likely fabricated. Also, Putnam claims he tried to convince Smith to let him and his wife adopt the baby, and Smith refused. In the film, this is only briefly brought up, and when Smith says no, he drops the topic. It seems in real life it was more of an issue than in the film. Above Suspicion also brushed right past the end when Putnam confesses, which was a lot more intense than the movie made it seem.

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Above Suspicion Parent Guide

Sloppy history is only one of the problems with this supposedly historical cop film..

Digital on Demand: When the FBI dispatches a top new agent to investigate a sleepy town in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, they don't anticipate much trouble. But when then he begins an affair with his star informant...

Release date March 16, 2021

Run Time: 104 minutes

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by keith hawkes.

Pikeville, Kentucky, is not exactly a metropolitan hub bubbling with excitement. A sleepy town in Appalachia, the two primary sources of income are funerals and drug deals. Susan Smith (Emilia Clarke) is involved in the latter. She lives with her ex-husband, Cash (Johnny Knoxville), who makes enough money selling cocaine, weed, and Percocet to keep her and her children living in a trailer. But when FBI agent Mark Putnam (Jack Huston) arrives in town to investigate a series of bank robberies, Susan is entranced. Although Putnam has a wife (Sophie Lowe) and children, Susan is set on having him. It won’t be easy: the only way to get close to him is to become an informant, and snitching is a dangerous business… but it has its rewards.

I suppose I should start by addressing the fact that this film is based on the true story of Susan Smith. Those familiar with the story (or who have five minutes to read a stubby Wikipedia article on the subject) will be aware that this story does not have a particularly happy ending, but that’s apparent from the plot synopsis. Unfortunately, historical interpretation is at the root of my issues with this movie, so if you’re planning to watch this and don’t want spoilers, you should stop here.

If you haven’t already guessed, Above Suspicion is not a good choice for younger audiences. The plot centers on an adulterous affair, with violent crime and heavy drug use sprinkled throughout. Even older audiences may not find this particularly palatable. Content aside, the production quality is better than I feared, given the genre. Emilia Clarke’s accent, while imperfect, still clearly represents some remarkable work on her part – although I expect that her career has made her somewhat familiar with the difficulties of language and accent work. Of particular note is Johnny Knoxville’s performance, which is surprisingly subtle for a man who has made a career as, quite literally, a professional Jackass . Cinematic qualities notwithstanding, I don’t think this is either a particularly diverting entertainment, or an edifying biographical film. Basically, I don’t know who this film was made for, but it’s certainly not me.

About author

Keith hawkes, above suspicion rating & content info.

Why is Above Suspicion rated R? Above Suspicion is rated R by the MPAA for sexual content and drug use throughout, language and some strong violence.

Violence: There are several instances of severe physical violence including beatings, bar fights, and a fatal choking. Several individuals are shot, and some of them are killed. Other incidents include scenes of domestic abuse, people being threatened with weapons, and individuals being set on fire while trying to commit arson. Sexual Content: There are several instances of graphic sexual dialogue. Two adults are shown having adulterous sex several times, although no nudity is seen. Profanity: There are 30 uses of extreme profanity and 14 uses of scatological cursing. There are also frequent mild profanities and terms of deity. Alcohol / Drug Use: Individuals are shown using a variety of illegal drugs, primarily cocaine, marijuana, and prescription opiates. Adults are also shown drinking and smoking heavily. Many are depicted as being addicted to these substances.

Page last updated October 2, 2021

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Another recently released crime thriller is The Little Things , which sees Denzel Washington and Remi Malek attempt to solve a series of serial murders. If you’re interested in crime films based on true stories, options include Foxcatcher , Catch Me If You Can , and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman . If you’re looking for films about informants, you might try The Informer , The Informant , Black Mass , or another Scorsese classic, The Departed .

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Above Suspicion Reviews

Fun spy thriller in the Hitchcock tradition, with Thorpe's gift for European atmosphere .

Full Review | Sep 13, 2017

It's pure escapism, and as such is very entertaining.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Oct 21, 2010