You know that feeling when you're flipping through channels on a rainy Sunday and you hit a movie that just works? That’s 1999’s Double Jeopardy. It isn’t a high-brow masterpiece, but man, it’s a ride. Most people remember it for that one legal loophole—which, honestly, isn't actually how the law works—but the real reason it stayed a cable TV staple for twenty-five years is the people on screen.
The double jeopardy film cast was basically a perfect storm of late-90s star power. You had Ashley Judd at the absolute peak of her "thriller queen" era and Tommy Lee Jones doing his best "I’m too tired for this, but I’m going to catch you anyway" routine. It was a weirdly effective pairing.
The Woman Who Fueled the Fire: Ashley Judd as Libby Parsons
Ashley Judd was everywhere in the late 90s. Heat, A Time to Kill, Kiss the Girls—she had this specific energy where she looked like she could be your neighbor but also like she could survive a shipwreck and track you down in New Orleans.
In Double Jeopardy, she plays Libby Parsons. Basically, Libby’s life is perfect until it’s a crime scene. She wakes up on a yacht covered in blood, her husband is missing, and suddenly she’s doing six years for a murder she didn’t commit.
A Transformation That Wasn't Just Makeup
Judd actually took this role seriously. Like, really seriously. She spent five weeks training with a former Navy SEAL to get the physical "edge" Libby would need after years in prison. You see it in the way she carries herself once she gets out. She isn't just a victim; she’s a weapon.
Funny enough, she wasn't even the first choice. Jodie Foster was supposed to play Libby, but she had to drop out because she was pregnant. Michelle Pfeiffer and Meg Ryan both said no too. Can you imagine Meg Ryan in that coffin scene? It would’ve been a totally different movie.
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Tommy Lee Jones: The Grumpy Moral Compass
Then there's Tommy Lee Jones as Travis Lehman. He’s the cynical parole officer who has to track Libby down after she skips town. Honestly, by 1999, Tommy Lee Jones could do this role in his sleep. He had just won an Oscar for The Fugitive a few years earlier playing essentially the same guy—the relentless hunter who starts to realize his prey might be innocent.
Lehman is a bit of a mess. He’s a former law professor whose life fell apart because of drinking, and Jones plays him with this craggy, exhausted charm. He got paid $10 million for the role, which is wild when you realize he doesn't even show up until more than 30 minutes into the movie. Ashley Judd, the actual lead, only got $1 million. Hollywood in the 90s, right?
The Villain We Love to Hate: Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood plays the husband, Nick Parsons. If you need a guy who looks incredibly handsome but also like he’s definitely hiding a second family and a life insurance scam, Greenwood is your man.
He manages to make Nick look like the perfect husband in the first ten minutes, which makes the betrayal sting more. The twist—that he’s alive and living a high life under the name "Jonathan Devereaux" in New Orleans—is what sets the whole second half of the movie in motion.
Small Roles, Big Impact
The supporting cast is surprisingly deep.
- Annabeth Gish plays Angie, Libby’s "best friend" who disappears with Libby’s son and (shocker) turns out to be living with the "dead" husband. Gish is great at playing that subtle, guilty betrayal.
- Roma Maffia (who worked with Judd in Kiss the Girls) plays Margaret, a fellow inmate who basically explains the "Double Jeopardy" legal theory to Libby.
- Jay Brazeau shows up as Bobby, the guy who helps Libby get the info she needs once she's out.
Why the Legal Logic is Kind of a Mess
Okay, we have to talk about it. The movie’s whole premise is that because Libby was convicted of murdering Nick once, she can kill him for real in the middle of Times Square and the police can’t touch her.
It’s totally wrong.
The Double Jeopardy Clause in the Fifth Amendment stops you from being tried twice for the same act. If you’re convicted of killing your husband on a boat in 1999, and then you actually shoot him in a cemetery in New Orleans in 2000, those are two different crimes. New state, new date, new murder.
But does that ruin the movie? Not really. It’s one of those "movie logic" things you just have to buy into for the sake of the thrill.
Behind the Scenes and Filming Vibes
The movie looks great, largely because it was directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy). They filmed a lot of it in British Columbia, standing in for Washington State. The scene where Libby drives the car off the ferry into the water? That was actually shot at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
The production wasn't all smooth sailing. There were uncredited rewrites by Robert Benton right before they started shooting. You can kind of feel that in the script—it’s a bit of a patchwork of a traditional thriller and a character study.
What to Watch Next if You Loved the Cast
If the double jeopardy film cast hit the spot for you, there are a few other movies that capture that same "90s suspense" vibe:
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- The Fugitive (1993): It’s the gold standard. Tommy Lee Jones is at his absolute best here.
- Kiss the Girls (1997): If you want more Ashley Judd being a total badass in the face of a serial killer, this is the one.
- High Crimes (2002): Judd teams up with Morgan Freeman this time. It’s got that same "who can I trust?" energy.
Double Jeopardy isn't trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s a movie about a mother who wants her son back and will walk through a brick wall (or a literal coffin) to get him. The cast makes you believe that journey, even when the legal logic is doing backflips.
If you're planning a rewatch, pay attention to the New Orleans sequence. The atmosphere there is thick enough to cut with a knife, and it's where the cast really gets to chew the scenery. Just don't use it as a study guide for your Bar Exam.
Next Steps:
Go back and watch the New Orleans auction scene. It’s a masterclass in tension and seeing Ashley Judd's Libby finally take control of the power dynamic. Then, compare Bruce Greenwood’s performance here to his role as JFK in Thirteen Days—the range is actually pretty impressive.