Benefit of the Doubt is a trite, predictable thriller that is almost saved by the fine performance of Donald Sutherland. The film starts out wrong, telegraphing that the parole board is making a mistake letting out a psychopathic spouse-killer (Sutherland). This makes the subsequent reconciliation scenes all the more frustrating, as the seemingly reformed convict begins to persuade his daughter (Amy Irving) that his incarceration was a mistake. There's easily enough material here to make a good film. Unfortunately, the filmmakers quickly abandon the family drama approach, opting to destroy all of the nuanced ambiguity that Sutherland's performance has built. The second half of the film descends into a routine chase-thriller. The deadly ending is a copout that surprises no one. Adding to the film's problems is Irving's miscast performance as a white-trash barmaid. Her vapidly feigned indecision and hysteria is not even up to the undemanding requirements of the screenplay.