The only reason I went to see this film was because of Ashley Judd. I don't know why, but I just really like her as an actress. She's pretty, yet smart, strong, yet feminine. It's hard to find that in an actress these days. She also tends to choose interesting characters. Unfortunately, in the case of DOUBLE JEOPARDY the role is the best thing about the film. This is a by-the-numbers thriller that has very few actual surprises. In fact, I can't really remember anything that was unexpected. The only moment that had any tension was the one where she wakes up covered in her husbands blood and has no idea what happened to him. From that point on, a 3rd grader could have told you what was going to happen. The film makes no secret of the fact that even though she went to prison for killing her husband, she's really innocent of the crime. The main reason we know this is because we see that he's alive. They show that in the trailer. Hello. Maybe that would have been interesting to find out while I was watching the MOVIE. Another nice little twist ruined by previews.

Granted it's not a huge stretch of the imagination to figure out that he's still among the living, but it's one of the few surprises this movie has. After serving her 6 year sentence, she's determined to find out where he is so she can reclaim her son, Matty. He's the one thing that kept her going during those years and she's not about to let her scum bag husband keep him away from her one minute longer. The search for her son is the main thrust of the film and I'm sorry, but it's just not enough to make a movie interesting. Granted, I might feel differently if I was a mother framed for a murder I didn't commit and torn away from my young child. Though I doubt it. Tommy Lee Jones plays her parole officer, a man who's lost everything – a promising career as a law professor and his family – to a drinking problem. In the beginning, he's unimpressed with her story. He believes she's like every other ex-con he's come across. When she disappears, it's his job to bring her back. However, her passion for her son and her story soon get under his skin and he ends up trying to save her from herself and the continued murderous impulses of her husband.