A throwback to the worst aspects of ‘90s thriller filmmaking, Above Suspicion features solid performances from Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston, yet is let down by distracting creative decisions under the once reliable eye of Phillip Noyce.

Above Suspicion is Noyce’s first feature film since the underrated 2010 action thriller Salt, and it is disappointing to watch the Australian filmmaking veteran return to the big screen with a whimper, rather than a bang.

On paper Above Suspicion sounds like a winner. Based on true events, the film tells the story of the first FBI agent to be charged for murder. Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke plays that informant, Susan Smith, a hard living drug user and mother of two who dreams of escaping her trailer park lifestyle. An opportunity presents itself when Susan decides to turn snitch for cash on bank robber Joe-Bea (Karl Glusman), who is best friends with Susan’s live-in ex-husband Cash (Johnny Knoxville.)

Susan’s salvation is found in FBI Agent Mark Putnam (Jack Huston), a clean-cut poster boy for the bureau who is eager to prove himself in its new Kentucky office. He views Susan as his ticket to nab a prime bad guy, yet soon their mutual manipulation turns into a sordid love affair, and eventually murder.

Both Clarkson and Huston are fine in their roles and share a strong chemistry. Clarke particularly makes an impression as the desperate drugged up informant who uses sex as a power play, but whose obsession leads to her downfall.

Odd creative decisions undercut the good performances. The choice to have Susan narrate the film beyond the grave is distracting at best and lazy at worst. Exactly why Noyce and company decided to go this route in a story as potentially engrossing and fascinating as this is mind-boggling. Same can be said for the use of static camera effects during scenes of hard drug-use, something we might have seen in a Tony Scott movie.

Set in 1989, the generically titled Above Suspicion very much feels like a movie released straight to video during the early to mid ‘90s. Cinematographer Elliot Davis (Out of Sight) does his best in capturing the mood-blue feels of drug addled Appalachian crime life, yet no amount of glossy sheen and star power can save Above Suspicion from languishing in the back-end of a streaming library.

Shot in 2016 and originally due for release in 2019, this much delayed true-crime fumble is no doubt Noyce’s worst film to date. Hopefully the once dependable and bankable filmmaker will find the right project to bring his talent to bring his talents to, because Above Suspicion is bottom of the barrel.