Accusation

January 10, 2022
Accusations of sexual harassment against movie star Aaron Julian drive Batista’s overwrought third thriller featuring New York City defense attorney Raquel Rematti (after 2018’s The Warriors). Six women have gone to the press to claim that Julian harmed their movie careers after they rejected his advances. Their efforts to get justice is spearheaded by Victor Tabnik, a lawyer who made his name exposing abuse in the Catholic church. Tabnik is cooperating with law enforcement, as well as pursuing civil remedies. But his campaign ends when he’s murdered in Central Park during a late-night hookup. When Julian becomes the prime suspect, he turns to Rematti to clear him. Zeal to nail Julian leads veteran professionals to take risky steps that even less-experienced prosecutors and cops would avoid. Batista doesn’t sweat the details (the police headquarters building dominates “the downtown waterfront”), and his decision to reveal the real killer’s identity at the time of Tabnik’s murder robs the plot of a whodunit angle. Multiple plot developments strain credulity, and characters lack depth. Law & Order this isn’t.