A Certain Justice (1997)

This P.D. James murder mystery keeps viewers guessing until the end. But even after Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh (Roy Marsden) fingers the killer of Venetia Aldridge (Penny Downie) -- who turns out to be a crack barrister at Old Bailey, London's central criminal court -- another problem awaits resolution: Is there enough evidence to make an arrest? Dalgliesh, the pensive, level-headed, master sleuth who stars in several James novels, is a welcome change from the flamboyant, American-style movie detective. He draws no guns, throws no punches, and experiences no epiphany that reveals the missing clue. In short, he is believable. Assembling clues from a scrapbook, a blood-stained wig, and handwriting on the arm of a second corpse, he weaves a tapestry of evidence that implicates or rules out suspects. Most of the time, A Certain Justice is a jolly-good detective story. On occasion, though, interviews with possible culprits become tedious simply because there are so many of them. It seems half the practitioners of law at Old Bailey had a motive to kill Aldridge, including Hubert St. John Langton (Frederick Treves), the retiring head of chambers; Drysdale Laud (Matthew Marsh), an attorney who was positioned to succeed Langton until Aldridge blocked his appointment; Harry Naughton (Ken Jones), a law clerk at Aldridge's firm; sundry other Old Bailey personages; a cleaning woman with a grudge; and a psychopath whom Aldridge successfully defended in a murder case. The acting is understated in that British way, and the plot emphasizes intrigue, good-old-fashioned ratiocination, and the eccentricity of its gallery of characters. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide