The crime thriller genre has its gems of storylines, from a serial killer hunting his victims using the seven deadly sins in Seven, to movies like <em>Gone Girl</em>, where the leading lady fakes her death and creates a twisted web of lies. To enthrall audiences, premises need an added edge to keep people invested in watching. The 1999 movie Double Jeopardy is overlooked in the genre for taking a law practice and turning it into an ironclad anchor of a woman scorned, going after her supposedly dead husband. Double Jeopardy further cemented her as an “it” girl in the thriller genre opposite some of Hollywood’s leading actors. The movie only highlights Ashley Judd‘s ability to give her big-screen roles the zip and energy needed to bring a strong female heroine to life.
What is ‘Double Jeopardy’ About?
Libby Parsons (Judd) lives a seemingly perfect life with her husband Nick (Bruce Greenwood) and their young son. Their picturesque life is soon shattered when Libby wakes up in their family boat covered in blood during a romantic weekend at sea. With Nick nowhere to be seen and holding the supposed murder weapon, Libby is arrested for his murder. Despite there being no body, all the evidence points to her, and she’s convicted. Libby begins to adjust to life behind bars until her visits with her son stop, and she soon realizes that the event that derailed her life isn’t as the authorities believed it happened. Forced to live out her sentence, she learns about the “double jeopardy” law and becomes hellbent on uncovering the truth. Even if it means trying to escape her parole officer, Travis Lehman (Tommy Lee Jones), and questioning the justice system.
Ashley Judd Taps Into Desperation and Determination, With Tommy Lee Jones Hot on Her Tail
By the time Double Jeopardy was released, Judd was a well-known face in the crime thriller genre, starring in the 1995 movie Heat, Kiss the Girls in 1997, and A Time to Kill in 1996. Her role as Libby Parsons in the Bruce Beresford movie only further embraced her role as a thriller leading lady. As a woman wrongfully convicted of murdering her husband, only to later discover he faked his death, Judd delivers a layered performance that shifts from despair to icy determination. Her transformation is what makes the movie tick: she’s vulnerable enough to ground the story emotionally but fierce enough to make her pursuit of justice pulse with energy.
Audiences watch as Libby’s strength and resolution crumble with raw sincerity, realizing that she’s being framed for a murder she didn’t commit, and losing her son. Judd taps into heartbreak not only as a woman but as a mother, capturing harrowing despair while feeling the crushing weight of betrayal and isolation. But it’s only the beginning, as she learns of the “double jeopardy” law that becomes the catalyst, hardening her once broken heart to seek revenge. Judd doesn’t play Libby as a stereotypical revenge figure; she gives her a quiet intelligence and an almost maternal ferocity that makes every decision feel earned. The desperation to reunite with her son fuels her, but Judd never lets that soften the edges of her determination. When facing the truth of her dead husband’s lies and facing confrontation, Judd carries the momentum all the way through.
Counterbalancing Judd’s intensity is Tommy Lee Jones, straight off his Oscar-winning role in <em>The Fugitive</em>, playing the seasoned parole officer who reluctantly becomes part of her journey. Jones brings his trademark gruff charisma, injecting the film with a push-pull dynamic between hunter and hunted that complicates the revenge narrative. But his story parallels Libby’s in a way, peeling back the layers like an onion, as he too begins to realize the false narrative that was spun against her. Jones plays the role of an authoritative figure well, as seen in his prior projects. One that is hardened by what he’s seen, no room for error or bending the rules, relentless and sharp. While his character chases Libby as a fugitive, there’s a level of empathy. Jones never lets Lehman go completely mush—he’s still gruff and skeptical—but he balances that toughness with a protective streak that adds texture to the film’s tension. He realizes the system he works so hard to make his paroles uphold did one of them dirty and fell short of justice.
‘Double Jeopardy’ Takes Legal Reality and Gives it a Killer Twist
There’s always a satisfying edge in crime thrillers when a killer’s grand plan begins to unravel. In the case of Double Jeopardy, it uses real-life legal practice to create a satisfying weaponized bedrock for the entire movie and sets up Judd’s character as an evolving heroine.. For those unaware, the law states that no person can be found guilty of the same crime twice. Therefore, seeing as Libby is already convicted of murdering her husband, she cannot be tried for the same crime again, even if she is the killer.
The double jeopardy law frees her to pursue her target without fear of legal consequences, transforming what could have been a routine chase story into a high-concept thriller with real stakes, moral tension, and high-stakes strategy. Of course, the movie takes a few liberties with this legal concept and gives it cinematic flair, but in this world, it becomes the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card for revenge. It becomes the fiery spark for Libby to survive her sentence and get her son back, giving her a righteous edge against her husband who destroyed her life for his own selfish gain.
By rooting her journey in the idea that she’s already “paid” for her crime,, the story invites audiences to step into her shoes knowing the full truth and savoring justice turned upside down. It’s a moral gray area but her vengeance is about balancing scales with Judd’s performance pushing audiences to cheer as the real villain gets what he deserves.
Double Jeopardy is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
