Presumed Innocent. Apple TV show

Cafe Society
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This is an adaptation of the 1987 Scott Turow novel that was also adapted in the 1990 Harrison Ford movie. Please no book or movie spoilers. Four episodes have already aired and spoilers for those can happen after this post.
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Spoiler space

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Why did the fact that Rusty’s skin was found under Carolyn’s nails make things worse for Rusty? We already know that he was there and that they were intimate.

3

Rusty believed that the skin under Carolyn’s fingernails would indicate she scratched him, presumably while trying to fight him off. That was why he was so insistent to Raymond that Carolyn didn’t scratch him on the night of.

I’ve watched all the episodes so far. Some thoughts:

  • They have definitely made some changes between the book/previous film adaptation and this series. The depictions of several characters have been changed; chief among these is Carolyn, who comes across like a better person in this adaptation than she did in the book or film (the depiction of her in both of those was pretty sexist; she was depicted as, for lack of a better term, a cutthroat who openly slept with any guy in the office who she believed would help her career). The depiction of the M.E., “Painless” Kumagai, is also better. James Hiroyuki Liao is doing a great job of making the character realistic and still utterly hateable (in the novel, Painless is an Asian stereotype Mickey Rooney would have been too ashamed to peform).

  • They have eliminated Sandy Stern from the story entirely and beefed up Raymond’s part by having him act as Rusty’s defense attorney. This makes sense, for simplicity if anything.

  • I have not been terribly impressed with the depiction of Nico; he is SOOO unlikeable that I cannot begin to think how anybody in Chicago would have voted for this creep.

  • They have chosen to gender swap a couple of roles. Detective Dan “Lip” Lipranzer is now a female detective Alana “Rigo” Rodriguez. Judge Lyttle has also been made a woman in this series, which may have significant effects on the plot down the road (at least, in contrast to the book).

Overall, I’ve enjoyed the series well-enough and I am interested to see what further plot twists and deviations they have in store.

4

Thanks for that great analysis.

We have yet to learn Carolyn’s motivations. She may end up being more Machiavellian. We know that she hid evidence in the other trial and kept that from Rusty.

I love the Judge Lyttle character.