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Runaway
Jury
Much has
been made in pre-release publicity about Runaway Jury's
men's room showdown scene between stars Gene Hackman and Dustin
Hoffman. Though the two movie giants have been friends since
the sixties, they had never acted together, and had the script
been left as is, they still wouldn't have.
A gaggle
of screenwriters crowbarred in the aforementioned scene and
yes, taken on its own, it's a magical moment as two powerhouses
go at each other in feigned moral outrage. Not even its imminent
reenactment in high school drama classes across the country
can dim its strength.
But a
quality brick wall still needs something to cement it together,
and Runaway Jury has little of that. Individual pieces
look mighty hefty and impressive, but it's a Jenga of a movie.
If you push or pull at the right places, it's going to all
come tumbling down.
Based
on a John Grisham novel that has the same problems, the movie
works hard to convince you that you're watching something
of importance. Changing the locale and the core hot-button
issue from big tobacco (which, in real life, people did start
suing and beating in court) to gun control, it could be lauded
for taking a stand. But it also takes that stand by reducing
the issue to a simplistic level: no one, absolutely no one,
on the side of the gun manufacturer has the slightest shred
of decency. Not the defense attorney, the smug Durwood Cable
(Bruce Davison), and certainly not the hot shot jury consultant
Rankin Fitch (Hackman).
The other
side tips out just as heavily for nobility. Hoffman exudes
almost ridiculous warmth as plaintiff's attorney Wendell Rohr,
a man who makes a conscious effort to be a man of the people.
Though this case brings a lot of publicity with it, there's
no doubt that Rohr is on a sincere moral crusade, helping
the widow (Joanna Going) of a broker killed in an office shooting
spree. That broker, by the way, is played by an uncredited
Dylan McDermott, a good actor kicked off The Practice
only to cameo in this big budget version of, well, The
Practice.
Acting
as pivot between the opposing forces, the mysterious Juror
#9 Nick Easter (John Cusack) has waited for the chance to
serve on such a case in order to offer the verdict up to the
highest bidder.
It's not
quite that simple, and Cusack's persona makes it easy to mask
what's really going on in collusion with Marly (Rachel Weisz),
the girl he either hardly knows or loves very deeply. Just
as the men's room scene allows the grand old men their moment
without adding anything real, so too do Nick and Marly have
a meet cute scene that has to be an after the fact red herring.
With
a script that pasted together, it's hard to see a real through
line beyond trying to stir audience emotions or at least admiration
for the acting. Indeed, on a legal level, the plot falls somewhere
above Ashley Judd's Double Jeopardy (a completely boneheaded
and flat-out legally wrong premise) but somewhere below
an episode of Matlock. (I'm safe there - no Matlock
viewer reads this site.)
So what's
left is characterization and performance, which Runaway
Jury does have in spades. Director Gary Fleder has assembled
an incredible cast that he lets run free for a while, and
therein lie the pleasures of the film.
Most
of the jury are recognizable character actors, turning in
vivid performances no matter how small the role. Even Nora
Dunn ends up looking like a real person, usually not her specialty.
Jeremy Piven gets cast against type as a "good" jury consultant.
Though made to look occasionally dim, Piven plays upstanding
pretty well, something casting directors might make note of.
But the
movie stars are the stars of the show, and if you ignore everything
around them, they entertain. Hackman and Hoffman are generous
actors to each other, and it's easy to forget how good they
really are when stuck in a desperately blunt crowd-pleaser
like this. Representing the next generation (if he wants it),
Cusack carves himself a good corner of the movie without being
too showy.
Runaway
Jury ends up being the kind of film you rent when your
parents come over to visit. You can all watch it together
without getting uncomfortable, and though there's a little
genuine suspense, it never gets so strong that you would react
overtly thus losing your cool in front of your elders. It's
an okay time-passer, but when you hit the multiplex, you should
get something more.
Rating:
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