Reversal of Fortune

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Reversal of Fortune

R

1990

2h 0m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

When socialite Sunny von Bülow (Glenn Close) inexplicably slips into an irreversible coma, police suspect foul play -- and the obvious suspect is her urbane husband, Claus (Jeremy Irons). After being found guilty of murder, Claus is granted a retrial and hires showboat Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to represent him. Though unconvinced of Claus's innocence, Dershowitz enjoys a challenge and -- along with a group of his students -- fights to have the verdict overturned.

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Critics Consensus

Featuring exceptional performances and a cunning script, Reversal of Fortune doubles as a tantalizing mystery and ruthless satire of the rich.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Jun 17, 2020

TV might make cautionary stick figures of Claus and Sunny. Reversal of Fortune treats them as if they were Noel Coward lovers gone to hell in a Lamborghini.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

Jun 17, 2020

3.5/4

Irons' Von Bulow is easily the most attractive and entertaining movie heavy since James Mason`s villain in North by Northwest, a figure with whom he shares a taste for elegant homes and wry understatement.

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Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

Jun 15, 2020

Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, director Barbet Schroeder and, especially, Jeremy Irons--in a glittering performance as the divinely decadent Dane--have chosen to treat this social death spiral as a tragicomedy of manners. It's an inspired tone.

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

Jul 28, 2023

74/100

This gripping legal drama is based on a case we still don’t know the truth of — which might make it seem like a pointless exercise, were it not for the fact that it’s infectiously fascinated by greater questions.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Nov 30, 2022

Reversal of Fortune is very well written, very well acted, and very well directed. [Full review in Spanish]

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Nov 9, 2020

3/4

As distant and icy as Jeremy Irons' Oscar-winning performance as suspected murderer Claus von Bülow, but like Irons' inscrutable steeliness, it's also endlessly compelling.

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Teddy S

@Teddy_S Aug 25, 2026

Gripping, multi-dimensional drama told in a very interesting way. Stayed in my mind a long time. Terrific.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Mar 8, 2026

Crime thrillers can be fun but when the case is this dull, it is just tedious. Maybe Dershowitz will write a riveting script about the Epstein files one day. Would probably make for a better film. He’ll probably still include a line in the film about him being too clever by half…eurgh the ego. Anyway, I watched this bland affair on DVD.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 1, 2026

Success in 2 hours. 1991 winner of Academy Award for Best Actor (Jeremy Irons).

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Jelisije J

@jjosifovic Feb 18, 2026

If you want answers to the movie don't expect to get it. The real heart of the film is the character of Jeremy Irons and without his performance the film is a snooze fest.

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Alec B

@Alec97 Jan 10, 2026

Genuinely a great time and very re-watchable. I love the coma voice over narration and Irons, Close, and Silver are all terrific.

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Hector I

@Hector1184BC Jan 11, 2025

Superb film found by chance. Jeremy Iron is fantastic, funny, cynical and mysterious. Accused of murdering his wife, he has to defend himself and gathers a bunch of geeks in a house with such a 90s vibe. It's all there: he thinks he's lonely and unhappy with her.She's a tyrannical, brittle woman who regrets her life. He comes across as an abused man who just wants to live his middle-class life and work. His daughter-in-law loves him, unlike his son-in-law. It's quite touching the way it's portrayed on screen, the looks, ... It reminds me a little of Polanski's J'accuse, where the person accused isn't exactly sympathetic. A great film, full of subtleties.

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Barbet Schroeder

Director

Glenn Close

Sunny von Bülow

Jeremy Irons

Claus von Bülow

Ron Silver

Professor Alan Dershowitz

Annabella Sciorra

Sarah

Uta Hagen

Maria

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0%

17%

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Synopsis

When socialite Sunny von Bülow (Glenn Close) inexplicably slips into an irreversible coma, police suspect foul play -- and the obvious suspect is her urbane husband, Claus (Jeremy Irons). After being found guilty of murder, Claus is granted a retrial and hires showboat Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to represent him. Though unconvinced of Claus's innocence, Dershowitz enjoys a challenge and -- along with a group of his students -- fights to have the verdict overturned.

Director: Barbet Schroeder
Producer: Edward R. Pressman, Oliver Stone
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Shochiku-Fuji Company [jp], Reversal Films Inc., Sovereign Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 1990, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.5M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround

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