After Under Suspicion, an obscure 2000 thriller starring Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman, was added to Netflix last month, it surprisingly attracted more attention than it ever got when it was first released. The movie briefly held the No. 10 slot on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the U.S. chart. It is one of many films starring Freeman now available to Netflix subscribers.
Under Suspicion was directed by Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, Race) and written by Tom Provost and W. Peter Iliff. It is a remake of the 1981 French movie Garde a Vue (The Inquisitor), which itself was inspired by the novel Brainwash by John Wainwright. Hackman places tax attorney Henry Hearst who becomes involved in the rape and murder of a young girl during his visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Freeman and Thomas Jane play police officers who suspect Hearst had something to do with the girl’s death. Monica Bellucci plays Hearst’s wife Chantal. Nydia Caro, Miguel Angel Suarez, and Luis Caballero also star.
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When the movie was released, Under Suspicion received mixed reviews and was almost completely ignored by audiences. Lionsgate gave the film a very limited theatrical release, meaning it grossed just $1.03 million worldwide. Since this movie, Hopkins has only directed two other films, The Reaping (2007) and the Jesse Owens biopic Race (2016). More recently, he directed all 14 episodes of the Quibi remake of The Fugitive in 2020.
Fans of Freeman’s work can find him in a handful of other movies on Netflix. He also stars in Going In Style (2017), The Sum of All Fears (2002), 5 Flights Up (2014), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Batman Begins (2005), and The Dark Knight (2008). Freeman also made uncredited appearances in three episodes of Madam Secretary, which is also available on Netflix.
Sadly, the best movie Freeman and Hackman made together is not on Netflix. They both starred in Clint Eastwood’s critically acclaimed 1992 Western Unforgiven, which won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Hackman, and Best Film Editing at the Oscars. Movie fans will have to turn to HBO Max to stream the film. Other Freeman movies available on HBO Max include Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, The Shawshank Redemption, Oblivion, Unleashed, Dolphin Tale, Amistad, Feast of Love, Million Dollar Baby, and Lucy. Freeman also narrated the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins, which is now streaming on HBO Max.
Although Hackman has retired from acting, Freeman is still very busy. His next movie is Muti, which centers on an African Studies professor working with a detective to find a serial killer. The film co-stars Yellowstone‘s Cole Hauser. Freeman also stars in Taylor Hackford’s upcoming Sniff, co-starring Al Pacino, Helen Mirren, and Danny DeVito. In 2021, Freeman appeared in Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Vanquish, Coming 2 America, and an episode of Netflix’s The Kominsky Method as himself.
