History Film / JaggedEdge

''Jagged Edge'' is a 1985 American neo-noir courtroom drama/erotic thriller film directed by Richard Marquand, written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Creator/GlennClose, Creator/JeffBridges, Creator/PeterCoyote, and Creator/RobertLoggia.

* DisposableWoman: Paige's maid is murdered along with her, but gets nary a mention. [[spoiler The very fact that Jack killed her when there was no need to do so emphasizes this.]]

* ArcWords: "Bitch". They're the same words the killer painted on the wall using Paige's blood, and [spoiler:repeated by Bobby Slade in court]].

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->''[[{{Tagline}} "When a murder case is this shocking, which do you trust? Your emotions or your evidence?"]]''

When San Francisco socialite Paige Forrester is found brutally murdered at her remote beach house, the police are quick to list her husband, Jack Forrester (Bridges), as the primary suspect. He reaches out to high-profile lawyer, Teddy Barnes (Close), to defend him. As the two of them reach the end of their court case, Barnes finds herself falling for Jack’s good looks and charm, while also questioning if he really is the criminal everyone is painting him as. Also involved in the case are Sam Ransom (Loggia), a private investigator and Barnes’s friend; and Thomas Kransy (Coyote), the district attorney who seeks to prove Forrester guilty.

Robert Loggia’s performance earned him an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2018, Sony Pictures announced a remake starring Creator/HalleBerry.

%%* ArcWords: "Bitch". They’re the same words the killer painted on the wall using Paige’s blood, and repeated by Bobby Slade in court.

* AmoralAttorney: [[spoiler: Turns out that Barnes and Ransom left Krasny’s office because he had withheld evidence that proved Styles’s innocence.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Jack Forrester. At first he appears to be a mourning husband, but is later revealed to be a manipulator and adulterer. [[spoiler: It’s also revealed that he was indeed guilty of killing his wife.]]

* DisposableWoman: Paige's maid is murdered along with her, but gets nary a mention. [[spoiler: The very fact that Jack killed her when there was no need to do so emphasizes this]]
%% * CheckovsGun:
* [[spoiler: EvilAllAlong]]: [[spoiler: Jack. During the climax of the film, it’s revealed that Jack was in fact guilty of his wife’s murder, and had been manipulating Barnes as well as several witnesses into shifting the case into his favor.]]
* FanDisservice: During the opening scene, Paige Forrester has her shirt ripped open, exposing her full breasts. However, given that she’s about to be murdered, the scene comes across as more disturbing than sexual.
* TheGhost: Henry Styles. He’s only ever mentioned in conversation, but he plays an important role in why Barnes is so reluctant to return to being an attorney, and why she’s at odds with Krasny.
* HappilyMarried: Subverted. [[spoiler: At first, Jack appears to be genuinely heartbroken over Paige’s death, but it’s eventually revealed that there was infidelity coming from both parties.]] [[spoiler: Plus Jack really did murder her.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sam Ransom. He’s a sour, cynical private investigator with a foul mouth, but ultimately has a good heart and clearly cares about his friend, Barnes.

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: [[spoiler: Jack is acquitted but when Teddy tells him she found the typewriter, he goes to her house to clean up loose ends. She shoots him to death in self defense]].

* SerialKillingsSpecificTarget: At least one other woman was assaulted in the same manner as Paige Forrester, raising speculation that a SerialRapist [=/=] SerialKiller is responsible, rather than Jack. [[spoiler: It turns out that HE attacked the other woman to create such doubt.]]

* TwistEnding: [[spoiler: Jack was the killer and a TheSociopath who manipulated Teddy into defending him in court.]]

* WeUsedToBeFriends: It turns out that Barnes and Ransom both used to work for Krasny’s office, [[spoiler: but left once they learned he had withheld information that got an innocent man thrown in jail]].