'Runaway Jury' wins with its charismatic cast

Font Size:

BY DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer | Friday, October 17, 2003 | (No comments posted.)

If you're going to tell a lurid, preposterous tale about hijacking the verdict in a major corporate lawsuit, "Runaway Jury" is the way to do it.

Need an unctuously corrupt jury consultant for the plaintiffs that audiences can love to hate? Give the part to Gene Hackman. Want to impart some charisma and moral dimension to your blandly upright defense attorney? Call in Dustin Hoffman. Got a pair of scheming jury-riggers who need to keep viewers poised between affection and aversion while their shadowy motives unfold? Try John Cusack and Rachel Weisz.

Casting is more than half the battle with "Runaway Jury," adapted from John Grisham's courtroom thriller.

Director Gary Fleder's brisk, assured pacing might have gone for naught had he been stuck spinning this outlandish story without such an accomplished and earnest cast to make events feel, if not believable, at least forgivably plausible in the name of tawdry entertainment.

Necessarily, the movie departs from a key element of the novel, supplanting a liability case against Big Tobacco over a smoker's death with a lawsuit against a gun manufacturer in a shooting death during an office rampage. Grisham's tobacco angle seemed prescient when the book came out in 1996, but a rash of verdicts against cigarette companies since then would have outdated the movie if it stuck with that premise.

The gun case seems more farfetched, though last fall, a jury did find a gun distributor liable to a small degree in the case of a teacher gunned down by a student.

The movie also transplants the story from Mississippi to New Orleans, whose cloistered back alleys are nicely captured in Robert Elswit's opaque cinematography.

Jury selection is about to begin in a widow's case against the company that made the assault weapon that killed her husband. Master jury fixer Rankin Fitch (Hackman) blows into town with a team of profilers and thugs, armed with surveillance equipment, dossiers and an utter lack of morality as they set about choosing then manipulating jurors in favor of the gun maker.

Representing the widow is honest local boy Wendall Rohr (Hoffman), who responds to the plaintiff's hired guns by reluctantly taking on his own jury consultant (Jeremy Piven).

Enter juror No. 9, Nick Easter (Cusack), seemingly a slacker who would rather be anywhere than doing his civic duty in court. But when Nick's shady girlfriend Marlee (Weisz) passes a picture of the jury to the opposing attorneys with the caption, "Jury for sale," Nick's real motive becomes clear: Delivering the verdict to the highest bidder.

The extremes to which Rankin's gang goes to neutralize Nick and Marlee's scheme makes for a guilty pleasure of a movie. It's ludicrous action howling for a mistrial, but your inner adjudicator likely will overrule any objections and just go with it on the strength of the hearty performances.

Cackling with delicious contempt, Hackman oozes his way through every scene. Hoffman musters a credible crisis of conscience, while Cusack and Weisz are delightful poker faces as they let their con gradually play out.

The attention to casting extends to secondary roles and bit players. Bruce McGill makes for an imperiously blockheaded judge, and Bruce Davison brings subtle professional resentment as the plaintiff's attorney whose strings Rankin pulls. Bringing credibility to almost inconsequential parts as jurors are Luis Guzman, Nora Dunn and Jennifer Beals.

onscreen

"Runaway Jury"

Grade: B

Starring: Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz

Director: Gary Fleder

Rated: PG-13, for violence, language and thematic elements

onscreen
"Runaway Jury"
Grade: B
Starring: Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz
Director: Gary Fleder
Rated: PG-13, for violence, language and thematic elements

Back to story No comments posted.

Please note: Comments from readers will be screened and may not be posted immediately. If you don't see your comment perhaps:

It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
It promoted violence or illegal acts.
It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.

In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.

Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.

Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.

If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.

For more information please read our Terms of Service.

Back to story No comments posted.

Post a comment Once your comments are approved, they will appear here.

Marketplace

Sections

Services

Other Publications

Search