Director: Gary Fleder
Format: DVD
DVD Features: commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes
Starring: John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman
Trailer
The latest trend arriving in my mailbox appears to be a series of John Grisham inspired films. Previously, I had never been partial to court drama. However, working in a law office has given me a bit of new perspective on the topic. I have also never been a reader of Grisham’s novels, although I haven’t intentionally avoided them. So, it seems slightly odd to me that at some point many months ago, I felt that I needed to add some legal material to my movie repertoire. It has become somewhat of an adventure to travel this seemingly random path I have chosen. It almost makes me wonder if I shouldn’t open up my Netflix queue to the general public just to see what I’ll end up with.
In Runaway Jury, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) and Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison) are attorneys on opposing sides of lawsuit that will ultimately decide whether or not gun manufacturers can be held responsible for the deaths of people killed by their products. The plot thickens, though, when a third party surfaces offering to sway the jury to either side in return for a cool ten million (give or take a few mil). On each side of the case, is a jury consultant who makes his living trying to judge which jurors will vote in their favor.
There are a lot of dual-sided elements to this film. Obviously, there is the conflict involved with the case itself. Then, just as obviously, there is the issue of gun control and constitutional rights. Two lawyers represent opposite sides of the case, two profilers attempting to aid either side, and two people working together to manipulate the case. But despite this black and white aspect to the film, the characters don’t quite balance each other out. Gene Hackman’s character, Rankin Fitch (I like the name), is working for the bad guys. He directs a team assigned to photograph, investigate and basically stalk all of the potential jurors in the case. After the jury is chosen, they continue to manipulate the lives of these people in order to convince them to favor their side of the case. Fitch is apparently an old hand at the business and his personality far overshadows that of Lawrence Green (Jeremy Piven), who is his counterpart on the good guy’s side. Rohr is counsel for the good side of the fight, but this is one of Hoffman’s weaker roles. Cusack is….well, typically Cusack. His girlfriend Marlee (Rachel Weisz) is a bit more hardcore than he is. Weisz is very strong in this role and gives an excellent performance. She is fast becoming one of my more favorite actors.
One particularly disappointing characteristic of Runaway Jury is that the filmmakers make it abundantly clear which side of the gun control issue the story favors. Hoffman and Piven are both the more humble, earthy type of people than their counterparts, who are greasy, big city men. The conclusion of the film, not just the verdict in the case, leaves no grey area as to how the audience should feel about the right to bear arms. I have not read John Grisham’s novel, and therefore cannot attest as to the accuracy of the movie, but I wish that Runaway Jury had shown more of a balanced argument. Regardless of my personal beliefs surrounding the issue, I always like to see both sides of a topic represented, giving more freedom to the audience; more respect for their right to make their own descisions.
I really did enjoy the story, aside from the weight so apparently shifted to one side. I did not see the ending coming (the verdict, yes, but not the true motives of Easter and Marlee), so it was refreshing to be surprised. The story is sufficiently intricate and most of the characters are very strong. I would recommend Runaway Jury if you are the type of person who enjoys a good court mystery. If you aren’t usually the kind to go in for this sort of thing, I don’t think it’s so distinctly different from the rest of the genre.
Overall Rating: 3
Hottie Rating: 2 (for Weisz and Cusack in general)
Alternate viewing: The Pelican Brief
Official site (I was unable to navigate to Runaway Jury at Fox’s site here, even though there is a link to it. Maybe you’ll have better luck.)
IMDB site
The Onion AV Club review
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