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Movies Forum Index » Movie Reviews Forum » Review: Runaway Jury (2003)
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| Author |
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| Robin Clifford |
 Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 4:41 pm |
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Guest
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"Runaway Jury"
Nicolas Easter (John Cusack) recently moved to New
Orleans and, as a good citizen, registered to vote.
Soon after, he receives notice to attend jury duty
and, like most people, tries to get out of it. Despite
his pleas to the judge of the big case Nick is
assigned to, he must do his civic duty. But, there is
a method to his evasive madness as he takes on the
role of puppet master in "Runaway Jury."
As the film opens, a handsome young businessman calls
his attractive secretary into his office where, we
think, he is about to seduce her. Instead, he pleads
with her to help him remember a child's nursery song
so he can sing it for his little boy's birthday party.
Suddenly, there are gunshots in the hallway and, when
the man investigates, he sees his coworkers being
gunned down. He goes back to his office to hide but
he, too, becomes a victim of the killing spree.
Jump ahead two years and the jury is being selected
for the case of the man's wife, Celeste Wood (Joanna
Going), against the Vicksburg Gun Company, the makers
of the assault weapon used by her husband's killer.
Taking her case is veteran good guy liberal lawyer
Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman). On the other side, for
the defendants, is high-powered attorney Durwood Cable
(Bruce Davison). Backing up Cable is the infamous
Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), and his team of
technicians, whose only goal is to see that the jury
selected will decide in favor of the gun makers.
Meanwhile, Rohr, with his tiny but dedicated staff
including juror specialist Lawrence Green (Jeremy
Piven), has the same goal in mind and he, too, wants a
jury that will decide in favor of his client. This
upcoming clash of the Titans runs into a snag, though,
when Marlee (Rachel Weisz) approaches both attorneys
and tells each that she can sway the jury in their
favor - for $10 million.
If you are familiar with the John Grisham novel you
will note the major change from the tobacco industry
to the gun manufacturers as the big bad guy. With the
way the world has changed in the few short years since
Grisham penned "Runaway Jury," this revision makes
sense. As such, the script, by a bevy of writers
involved in the adaptation, does a decent job in the
transition while maintaining the integrity and
complexity of the author's original story.
"Runaway Jury" has a huge ensemble cast with John
Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz
leading a who's-who of character actors. The list is
long with the likes of Bruce McGill, Luiz Guzman,
Jennifer Beal, Cliff Curtis and many more appearing in
small roles. These talented actors all help contribute
to the craftsmanship of the film helmed by Gary
Fleder.
The complexity of the story is well handled as there
are several lines being followed with Nick and
Marlee's scam, Rohr's inner conflict over selling out
to win and Fitch's confident win-at-any-cost
operation. The defense team operation is by far he
most complex as Rankin walks into a command central
environment bustling with the busy people who use
their hi-tech tools to dig into the lives of the
jurors, just to have an edge in the case outcome. The
set design for this interesting locale is over the top
with massive screens displaying everything about the
lives of their victims. It is kind of creepy in a
George Orwellian way.
"Runaway Jury" is, being a Grisham adaptation, a
liberal minded movie that wears its heart on its
sleeve but does so proudly. The characters have a
distinct good versus bad, right versus wrong feel and
there is not much shading allowed except on a surface
level - like Rohr's inner struggle. Still, this is
solid entertainment that won't have you complaining,
"it wasn't like that in the book." I give it a B.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com
laura@reelingreviews.com
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X-RAMR-ID: 36013
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1206825
X-RT-TitleID: 1126402
X-RT-SourceID: 386
X-RT-AuthorID: 1488
X-RT-RatingText: B |
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