Review: Runaway Jury

Widow Joanna Going is suing a gun manufacturer after the shooting death of her husband (Dylan McDermott, in a tense opening scene). She is represented by lawyer Wendall Rohr (Dustin Hoffman). Rohr’s legal opponent is a lawyer played by Bruce Davison, however he is aided behind the scenes by the shark-like jury consultant Fitch (Gene Hackman) hired by the gun manufacturer (represented by Stanley Anderson). Fitch and his team (including Marguerite Moreau, Leland Orser, and goons played by Nick Searcy and Nestor Serrano) use any means necessary to acquaint themselves with the potential jurors for selection. Once that process is over, they hope to have found the right people to get the verdict they are looking for. Rohr, by comparison is only aided by the somewhat ineffectual Jeremy Piven, and is far less Machiavellian in technique.

 

The fly in the ointment comes in the form of Nicholas Easter (John Cusack), who winds up on the jury and appears to be playing his own influencing game amongst the other jurors. What are he and his partner Marlee (Rachel Weisz) up to? Luis Guzman, Nora Dunn, Cliff Curtis, Gerry Bamman, Bill Nunn, and Jennifer Beals are the familiar faces on the jury. Bruce McGill plays the frequently bemused judge, with Orlando Jones (where did he vanish to after this?) uncredited as one of Nicholas’ buddies.

 

Rock-solid 2003 John Grisham (“The Firm”, “The Client”, “The Rainmaker”) adaptation directed by Gary Fleder (“Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead”, “Don’t Say a Word”, “Homefront”) boasts an irresistible story, and a terrific cast full of familiar names and faces, including Gene Hackman in one of his last roles before his well-earned retirement. It has an obvious anti-gun axe to grind, but also comes armed with a very funny, and very (very) cynical bite to it. The subject matter at the crux of the court case is heart-breaking, but watching John Cusack work to undo all of Gene Hackman’s plans early on is a lot of fun. Thematically, it is actually more relevant in 2016 than it even was in 2003. I mean, it could easily be ripped from today’s headlines.

 

The story plays out in a little bit of a heightened fashion, but when I tell you that this is like the Tony Scott of legal thrillers, I mean that in both the best and worst ways. Best because it’s a lot of fun (as was Scott’s “Enemy of the State” and “Déjà vu”, for instance), worst because the camerawork overseen by director Fleder and cinematographer Robert Elswit (“Good Night and Good Luck”, “Magnolia”, “Nightcrawler”) is horrendously shaky and zooms all the way to buggery. It’s really distracting, and for me the only flaw with the whole film. Sure, a film with four credited screenwriters is usually a giant red flag, but this film is one of the rare exceptions. It’s very clever stuff, as scripted by Brian Koppelman (“Rounders”), David Levien (“Rounders”), Rick Cleveland (TV’s “Six Feet Under”), and Matthew Chapman (“Colour of Night”). Yes, you might want to call the film ridiculous (and it is), but I’m not willing to 100% say that juries can’t be rigged by interested parties. Everyone must’ve been (forgive me) on the same page and there’s no lumps and bumps evident outside of the camerawork.

As I said, the cast is pretty big, it’s a terrific B+ cast, and I mean that as a compliment (Though I guess the four main stars might feel somewhat slighted). Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman (former roommates in their beginnings as actors) are perfectly matched and a lot of fun to watch. So much so, in fact, that it’s a bit of a shame that Hackman doesn’t play a lawyer, so that their screen time together (at least squaring off with one another) is relegated to one brief, but excellent scene in the men’s room. It’s not quite the diner scene in “Heat”, but it’s a good scene. On a good day Hoffman can be one of the world’s best actors. He was good on the day of his big scene with Hackman, and still comes off second best. That’s how great (and perfectly cast) Hackman is, and how great the speech he delivers is. It’s a helluva thing to see him work. John Cusack manages to be very easy to take, even when his character is kind of a smart arse. He’s a likeable smart arse, and it’s to Cusack’s credit mostly, he’s an innately likeable actor. There’s a particularly hilarious bit where a sob story from Cusack results in a show of strength from the jury in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Rachel Weisz is the weakest member of the central quartet, but not to any great degree. She’s perfectly fine, as are smaller turns by the likes of Bruce McGill, Bruce Davison, Dylan McDermott (who maximises his few minutes), the amusing and perfectly cast Nick Searcy and Nestor Serrano (who manages to turn ‘Would you like me to fix you a sandwich?’ into a creepily insinuating threat) as a very different couple of goons, and the underrated Marguerite Moreau as Hackman’s right-hand woman. I suppose you could gripe that the likes of Jennifer Beals, Bill Nunn, (an uncredited) Luis Guzman, and Jeremy Piven are all wasted, but that’s a minor gripe.

 

It’s not a great film, but a really good one (and one of the better Grisham adaptations) that still has replay value even when you know where it’s going. Expertly cast, cleverly written, and only slightly sullied by overly jittery handheld camerawork that is totally unnecessary. 

 

Rating: B