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Just when you thought that it was safe to go back into a cinema, another John Grisham adaptation makes it's way onto the silver screen. Will this be the one that finally makes it worth our while to watch, or should we stay with the book instead? |
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Just when you thought that it was safe to go back into a cinema, another John Grisham adaptation makes it's way onto the silver screen. Will this be the one that finally makes it worth our while to watch, or should we stay with the book instead? |
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What's the Plot? After the senseless murder of her husband, a widow in New Orleans brings a civil suit against the gun manufacturers' consortium who she believes are partly responsible. Representing her is Wendall Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), a Southern lawyer who is convinced that they have a strong case and can win. His opponent is Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison), the attorney for the defence. In reality though, Rohr's real problem is Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman): a brilliant and ruthless jury consultant who never loses and has been employed by the corporate consortium to secure them a favourable verdict for them. Whilst vetting the possible jury candidates, Fitch eventually has to concede and allow in the "wild card" who he didn't want as part of the twelve jurors - Nick Easter (John Cusack), a man who from 8 months ago, has no past. With the twelve decided, the court case that could cost the gun industry billions begins under the mounting coverage from the media. All seems straight forward for Rohr and Fitch until the arrival of a mysterious woman called Marlene (Rachel Weisz) who tells both men that the jury is for sale and that she can secure the outcome of the trial for $10 million dollars. Will anyone take her offer and how can she deliver a verdict ?
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The Review Despite many attempts to bring their books to the screen, authors such as King, Crichton and Grisham have had a very hit-and-miss resume when it came to critical and box office success. Runaway Jury will not hit the heights that Crichton's Jurassic Park reached, but it won't wallow in the depths of King's Dreamcatcher either. Relatively unknown director Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls, Don't Say A Word) has garnished his flick with an impressive cast who don't let themselves, or him, down. Hackman and Hoffman, obviously the heavy artillery, bring a touch of class to the proceedings, but it's Hackman who gets the meatier role as an order-barking, people-chewing, coldly-manipulative character.
Hoffman gets the moral high-ground which is a shame because when the two of them square off to each other in the courts' toilets, the scene could have been up there alongside DeNiro and Pacino's Heat, but with Hoffman's Rohr too "goody-goody", the confrontation lacks any danger and bite. Cusack, as always, hands in a solid, dependable performance, with his uncommitted, "goofing off" persona lulling you into a false sense of security until the plot takes an unexpected turn and you realise that no one is what they first appeared to be. |
Movies with twists can be the hardest thing for the makers to pull off, and for the audiences to swallow, but Fleder succeeds, with three separate groups all battling for secret control of the unsuspecting jurors, leaving to guess why, and of course, who will ultimately win. Weisz, the least known (globally, at least) holds up well alongside her American stars, pulling off the accent without question and matching Hackman's Fitch in a public blackmail negotiation, sneer-for-sneer. Runaway Jury benefits from a solid story which it doesn't lose under it's star presence, and although not in the league of Disney, it does have a message to deliver which, thankfully is more "stick two fingers up in the air" than "sugar-coated." With hints of Twelve Angry Men ( THE courtroom drama ), this is a film worth seeing.
STEVE'S SCORE
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Copyright © Steve Murphy 2003
