Warning! Constains minor spoilers for Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent.
Summary
Jake Gyllenhaal’s new character in an Apple TV+ show is a perfect culmination of his five roles from the past 17 years. Since he made his acting debut in 1991,Jake Gyllenhaal has starred in several acclaimed moviesand has only grown from strength to strength as an actor. He now has everything from superhero flicks to gripping crime thrillers, space operas to rom-coms under his belt. However, despite being open to playing diverse characters, Gyllenhaal has never had any major TV roles until now.
After years of playing characters only on the big screen, Gyllenhaal has picked up an intriguing television role, which puts his acting skills on full display. However, even though this new role marks Gyllenhaal’s foray into the small screen, it seems reminiscent of several movie roles he has played in the past. Since the actor is known for bringing immense depth and authenticity to his characters with his brilliant acting skills, it is intriguing to notice how he makes his new TV character stand out from his movie roles despite its similarities with his previous characters.
Presumed Innocent Cast & Character Guide
Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent walks through a gripping courtroom drama that features several familiar actors but also ones who are relatively obscure.
Presumed Innocent Is A Great Follow-Up To Jake Gyllenhaal’s Investigator Movies
Gyllenhaal Has Previously Played Investigator Characters In Several Films Like Zodiac, The Guilty, & Prisoners
Serving as a remake of the eponymous 1990 film,Apple TV+‘sPresumed Innocentportrays Gyllenhaal as an accomplished prosecutor named Rusty Sabich. In the show’s opening arc, Rusty seemingly has a good relationship with his wife and two kids. However, his life takes a grim turn when his former co-worker, Carolyn Polhemus, is found dead in her apartment. The investigation surrounding her murder reveals that Rusty had an affair with her, and she was also pregnant with his child. This makes Rusty a prime suspect in the crime, forcing him to confront his past and find out who killed Carolyn before it is too late.
Given how Jake Gyllenhaal has explored myriad genres and played diverse characters throughout his acting career, it is not surprising that Apple TV+‘sPresumed Innocentis not his first crime thriller. Before the Apple TV+ show, the actor played leading roles in several other films, likeNightcrawler,The Guilty,Prisoners,Enemy, andZodiac, in whichhis characters find themselves in the middle of complex mysteries that challenge not only their investigative skills but also their moral compass. In every film, Gyllenhaal does an incredible job of capturing his character’s moral ambiguities and inner conflicts.
How Gyllenhaal’s Role As Rusty Sabich Compares To His Movie Characters
Rusty Sabich Shares Some Qualities With Other Gyllenhaal Characters But Is Clearly Distinguishable
Even though Gyllenhaal has played many an investigator, all his characters have distinct qualities, struggles, and moral inclinations that set them apart. For instance, whilePresumed Innocent’s Rustycomes off as a loving family man who has only made some dire mistakes in the past,Nightcrawler’s Lou Bloom is so consumed by his pursuit of success that his sense of humanity gradually decays. Lou Bloom is technically not even an investigator but a freelance reporter. However, he meticulously hunts down crime scenes and arrives at them even before the police to capture sensational footage.
Similar to Gyllenhaal’sPresumed Innocentcharacter,Enemy’s Adam and Anthony also get caught in loops of infidelity that eventually haunt them and taint their personal relationships.
As the Apple TV+ show suggests, Rusty would never fall that low to gain more material success. Like Rusty,The Guilty’s Joe Baylor struggles to confront the demons of his past and keeps justifying his mistakes. However, when he finds himself embroiled in a tense 911 call, his circumstances force him to look back at his moral failings and finally seek redemption. In Denis Villeneuve’s mind-bending thrillerEnemy, Gyllenhaal plays two similar-looking characters, neither of whom are professional investigators.
However, when one of the two men, Adam Bell, learns that an actor, Anthony Claire, looks exactly like him, he sets out to solve the mystery and learns disturbing truths about his own identity and inner desires. Similar to Gyllenhaal’sPresumed Innocentcharacter,Enemy’s Adam and Anthony also get caught in loops of infidelity that eventually haunt them and taint their personal relationships. Even inDavid Fincher’sZodiac, Gyllenhaal’s Robert Graysmith is not a typical investigator but more of a journalist who obsesses over finding the identity of an elusive killer and isdrawn into a self-consuming quest that quietly ravages his personal life.
Is Presumed Innocent Based On A True Story?
Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent has been praised for its character development and plot, making many wonder whether it might be based on a true story.
Presumed Innocent Puts A Dark Spin On Jake Gyllenhaal’s Movie Past
The Apple TV+ Show Continues His Crime Thriller Streak
Although all Jake Gyllenhaal characters in the crime thrillers mentioned above fall into different levels of the moral spectrum, neither are perfectly black nor white on the scale. Almost all of them have shades of gray, highlighting howeven though they mean well and seek justice, they often surrender to darker impulses.Jake Gyllenhaal’s Rusty in Apple TV+‘sPresumed Innocent, too, preaches about radical justice in the show’s opening sequence, but his past actions reveal how he has compromised on his own ideals and must now live with the painful consequences.
New Presumed Innocent episodes are released on Apple TV+ every Wednesday.
Presumed Innocent
An eight-episode limited series based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Scott Turow. Starring Gyllenhaal in the lead role of chief deputy prosecutor Rusty Sabich, the series takes viewers on a gripping journey through the horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. The series explores obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.
