Libby Parsons has a loving husband, a beautiful son, and a comfortable life. She seems to have the perfect relationship - until the night the happy couple decide to go sailing, and she's found covered in blood, clutching a knife; her husband missing. A quick trial later, she's found guilty and sent to prison, her son entrusted to the care of her best friend.
So far, so good - except that things suddenly take a turn for the unexpected. One day, when Libby calls her son up, she is shocked to hear him greet "Daddy!" - the same Daddy she was accused of murdering and dumping in the sea. As it slowly dawns on her that she has been set up for a murder she didn't commit, she also hears about the American "double jeopardy" law, which postulates that a person cannot be accused and convicted of the same crime more than once. With this as her defense, she begins training in earnest for the day when she will leave the prison, and find the husband who betrayed her.
Of course, things don't work out that smoothly; she has to contend with a cold trail and a tough-as-nails parole officer, played by Tommy Lee Jones. A number of lucky - although unbelievable - coincidences result in her locating both her husband and her son; as you might imagine, a few gunshots and plot twists later, the situation is resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
While "Double Jeopardy" starts out with an interesting premise, it fails to do it justice; the story never really seems to flow smoothly, and the entire sequence of events is so unbelievable that the movie fails to grab your imagination. Both Jones and Judd turn in passable performances, as do the other performers. In sum, this movie is strictly okay - watch it only if you're really starved for entertainment.
This article was first published on14 Mar 2000.