--- title: "Reversal of Fortune" year: 1990 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/reversal-of-fortune" fi1m_id: "reversal-of-fortune" imdb_id: "tt0100486" tmdb_id: 38718 wikidata_id: "Q1210973" fi1m_score: 75 critics_score: 66 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-20T21:23:49.119813+00:00" region: "MX" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Reversal of Fortune (1990) Directed by Barbet Schroeder · 1h 51m · Drama ## Identity Reversal of Fortune - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/reversal-of-fortune - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** reversal-of-fortune - **IMDb ID:** tt0100486 - **TMDB ID:** 38718 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1210973 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100486/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/38718, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1210973 **Fi1m score: 75** · Critics 66 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* Jeremy Irons makes impeccable manners look like grounds for suspicion > Barbet Schroeder makes an absorbing, dryly funny legal drama from the von Bülow case, with Jeremy Irons supplying much of its unease. Its fascination with the people debating the evidence sometimes leaves Sunny feeling like an afterthought. ## Synopsis Claus von Bülow (Jeremy Irons) is at the centre of a legal case while his wife, Sunny (Glenn Close), lies in a coma. Sunny supplies the narration, as questions about guilt and justice become entangled with judgements about the von Bülows’ wealth and personalities. Ron Silver plays Alan Dershowitz, with Annabella Sciorra as Sarah and Uta Hagen as Maria. The case provides the setting for a drama about a marriage, the people surrounding it and the difficulty of deciding what to believe about those involved. ## Review Barbet Schroeder’s *Reversal of Fortune* is an absorbing legal drama, held back by its distance from Sunny von Bülow. It asks us to consider the case without assuming that an unpleasant person must be a guilty one. That is a useful starting point for a film about people whose money gives us another reason to distrust them. We recommend it for the performances and the talk. Its treatment of the woman at the centre of the case is harder to defend. Jeremy Irons plays Claus von Bülow with such elaborate composure that courtesy begins to seem a little threatening. The performance makes it difficult to separate our dislike of the man from any judgement about the case. Irons is funny without making Claus safely ridiculous, and Schroeder allows that uncertainty to remain uncomfortable. A broader performance would let us dismiss him as a rich eccentric. Here we keep paying attention, partly because we cannot tell how much of his manner is meant to be funny. Ron Silver’s Alan Dershowitz gives the film a welcome change of energy. His alertness makes the legal discussion feel active, and Nicholas Kazan’s screenplay gives him material worth listening to. There is pleasure in watching somebody think through a problem without the film pausing to congratulate him on being clever. The writing also understands how quickly a question about evidence can become a question about the person presenting it. Occasionally, though, the sheer satisfaction of the talk makes the human cost seem less urgent. Glenn Close has the more awkward assignment: Sunny von Bülow narrates from a coma. We laughed at the wit of that narration, then felt uneasy about laughing. The situation makes the joke uncomfortable, and Close is good at keeping the bitterness audible. Yet giving Sunny a voice does not quite give her the same dramatic weight as the men discussing the case. Schroeder’s detachment becomes a weakness here, because Sunny can seem peripheral even when we are listening to her. Luciano Tovoli’s cinematography gives the von Bülows’ wealth a polish that suits the film’s attraction to their way of life. Mel Bourne’s production design makes their money feel substantial, an important part of how we judge these people. Judianna Makovsky’s costumes add to that immediate sense of social position. The result is persuasive, though we occasionally wanted the film to look less pleased with its wealthy subjects. They already have enough advantages without the photography taking their side. Lee Percy’s editing keeps the legal material moving while allowing the performances time to register. That helps preserve the curiosity on which the film depends: we have room to consider people without simply waiting for another piece of information. Mark Isham’s music sustains the unease, usefully supporting a film that makes suspicion so easy. Both contributions suit Schroeder’s restraint. The trouble comes when that restraint makes another person’s suffering feel like something we have been invited to consider at a comfortable distance. Legal dramas often encourage us to treat a persuasive personality as a reliable guide to the truth. This one gives us good reason to resist, and its cooler passages are worth tolerating for the intelligence of that approach. Choose it for an evening of difficult people, good acting and a case worth arguing about afterwards. Anyone hoping to feel close to Sunny should expect a less satisfying time. *Fi1m score 75, published 13 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Reversal of Fortune worth watching?** *Reversal of Fortune* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a legal drama built on talk and difficult people, and we scored it 75. Jeremy Irons makes Claus von Bülow's impeccable manners look like grounds for suspicion, and Ron Silver keeps the legal argument lively. Its weakness is Sunny, who narrates from a coma yet often feels peripheral to the men debating her case. **How long is Reversal of Fortune, and what is it rated?** *Reversal of Fortune* runs 1h 51m. It is a drama film. **Where can I watch Reversal of Fortune in Mexico?** *Reversal of Fortune* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV in Mexico, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from MX$49.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Reversal of Fortune, and is it suitable for children?** *Reversal of Fortune* is a 15 in the UK and R in the US, and it is a talking film rather than a violent one. Its discomfort comes from subject matter: a woman in a coma, a marriage under legal scrutiny and a dry wit about both that we found uneasy to laugh at. It is not for children, and unlikely to hold them. **How does Reversal of Fortune compare to Anatomy of a Murder?** *Reversal of Fortune* and [*Anatomy of a Murder*](https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-murder) are both legal dramas that treat a persuasive personality as a poor guide to the truth, but Schroeder's film is cooler and more dryly amused, while Preminger's is the fuller courtroom picture. The earlier film is the more satisfying of the two, though it is longer, and both are unkind to the one woman at their centre. **What should I watch after Reversal of Fortune?** After *Reversal of Fortune*, try [*Anatomy of a Murder*](https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-murder) (1959, Fi1m 87): Another legal drama that makes persuasive testimony a poor substitute for certainty. Then [*The Servant*](https://film.one/film/the-servant) (1963, Fi1m 89): For another unsettling household where class is expressed through manners and control; and [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) (2011, Fi1m 93): Conflicting accounts carry greater emotional weight in this painfully human dispute. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Empire**, Robyn Karney (80/100, inferred): The film is intriguing and absorbing despite unresolved moral ambiguities about guilt. It is praised for its classy production, powerhouse performances from Irons, Close and Silver, and literate script. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/reversal-fortune-review/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (70/100, inferred): The seductively entertaining film treats the case as a tragicomedy of manners with a morally ambiguous but on-target approach. Benson highlights the performances and observations of the rich and peculiar lifestyle. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-17-ca-2276-story.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (70/100, inferred): The film entertains without solving the case, narrated from Sunny's coma perspective in a witty, sharp tone. Ebert praises the performances, especially Irons as the enigmatic Claus, and the way it leaves the audience to decide the truth. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/reversal-of-fortune-1990) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (70/100, inferred): The lively, provocative adaptation explores the upper class underside through the von Bulow case with exquisite acting. It presents justice without moral certainty, focusing on personalities and contradictions in the story. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/17/movies/review-film-exploring-the-underside-of-the-upper-class.html) - **Time Out**, CM (40/100, inferred): The film is a strange, unsatisfactory mixture of satire and docudrama that engages the mind but leaves the emotions intact. Performances by Jeremy Irons and Ron Silver hit the right pitch, though the detached approach to characterisation is most acute with Glenn Close's comatose Sunny. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/reversal-of-fortune) ## Details - **Director:** Barbet Schroeder - **Director:** Barbet Schroeder - **Screenplay:** Nicholas Kazan - **Cinematography:** Luciano Tovoli - **Editor:** Lee Percy - **Music:** Mark Isham - **Production design:** Mel Bourne - **Costume design:** Judianna Makovsky - **Producer:** Oliver Stone, Edward R. Pressman - **Cast:** Glenn Close as Sunny von Bülow / Narrator; Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bülow; Ron Silver as Alan Dershowitz; Annabella Sciorra as Sarah; Uta Hagen as Maria; Fisher Stevens as David Marriott; Jack Gilpin as Peter MacIntosh; Christine Baranski as Andrea Reynolds - **Runtime:** 1h 51m - **First release (Canada):** 12 September 1990 - **Genres:** Drama - **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1990) - **Box office:** $15 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-BP4YV9Po4 ## Where to watch in Mexico - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Apple TV: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent MX$49.00, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy MX$139.00, hd *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1991: Best Director (nominated); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated); Best Actor (won) ## If you liked this - *Anatomy of a Murder* (1959), Fi1m 87: Another legal drama that makes persuasive testimony a poor substitute for certainty. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-murder.md) - *The Servant* (1963), Fi1m 89: For another unsettling household where class is expressed through manners and control. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-servant.md) - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Conflicting accounts carry greater emotional weight in this painfully human dispute. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) - *Saint Omer* (2022): A courtroom film that listens carefully and makes easy judgements uncomfortable. - *The Staircase* (2004): This documentary series makes prolonged access to a defendant complicate our confidence. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/reversal-of-fortune