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2003
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RUNAWAY
JURY
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STARRING:JOHN
CUSACK,GENE HACKMAN,DUSTIN HOFFMAN,RACHEL WEISZ,JEREMY PIVEN,NICK
SEARCY,BRUCE DAVISON,BRUCE MCGILL, CLIFF CURTIS,DYLAN MCDERMONT
BASED
ON THE NOVEL "THE RUNAWAY JURY" BY JOHN GRISHAM
SCREENPLAY
BY BRIAN KOPPELMAN,DAVID LEVIEN,RICK CLEVELAND & MATTHEW
CHAPMAN
PRODUCED
BY GARY FLEDER,CHRISTOPHER MANKIEWICZ & ARNON MILCHAN
DIRECTED
BY GARY FLEDER
GENRE:THRILLER/DRAMA
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M/UK:12A/USA:PG-13
RUNNING
TIME:127 MIN
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Runaway
Jury is another slick, big budget
adaptation of a John Grisham best seller, which focuses on a civil
lawsuit brought against gun manufacturer Vicksburg Firearms after
one of their weapons was used in a shooting spree. The movie contains
four key characters; Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), a jury consultant
working for the defense who will go to any lengths to win; Wendell
Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), a lawyer who represents the widow of a man
who was killed in the shooting spree; and Nicholas Easter (John Cusack)
a video game store clerk assigned to jury duty who slowly reveals
himself as a man with his own agenda, slowly taking control of the
jury from the inside while his girlfriend and partner in crime Marlee
(Rachel Weisz) applies her influence on the outside. With the jury
in their grasp, they open the verdict to all bidders.
Part court room drama, part thriller with a social agenda (gun control),
this is quick, digestible entertainment which reminds me of another
Gene Hackman thriller, Enemy of the State in its use
of high tech surveillance, which does go over the top with its various
forms of bugging and clichéd tech talk.
The script is surprisingly sharp considering the number of screenwriters
involved, while director Gary Fielder's use of quick cuts and shaky
cam will keep the audience on their feet.
The movie contains a very good ensemble cast. John Cusack's every
day man shtick wins the audience over instantly as he twists the jury
around his finger, Gene Hackman seems to be having fun with his Mephisto-esque
role, and Dustin Hoffman - although a little hammy - has enough tricks
of his sleeve to put in a good performance as the lawyer struggling
with a crisis of conscience.
In a scene specifically written for the screen, Hackman and Hoffman
(two men who were room mates during their years as struggling actors,
now multi Oscar winners) finally come face to face in a scene that
is reminiscent of Robert De Niro of Al Pacino's face off in Heat.
It is a well written, deftly acted scene that is the definite highlight
of the film.
The rest of the cast reads like a who's who of character actors and
personalities; Jeremy Piven, Bruce McGill, Jennifer Beals, Luis Guzman,
Bill Nunn and Cliff Curtis all make an appearance, while the casting
of well known television personality Dylan McDermont as the victim
gives the films back story much depth.
A solid, run of the mill cat and mouse thriller, Runaway Jury
is saved by a fine cast and a juicy twist towards the films conclusion.
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