‘Runaway Jury’ offers more conspiracy theories than JFK assassination
If you cross TV favorites “The Practice” and “The X-Files,” you might get something resembling “Runaway Jury,” a the-truth-is-out-there thriller brimming with more conspiracy theories than the JFK assassination. The PG-13 picture ranks as an old-fashioned potboiler that seems like much more due to intense performances by Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman and slick direction by Gary Fleder (“Don’t Say a Word”). The veteran actors add plenty of punch (especially during an unexpected verbal face-off in a men’s room), and the filmmaker manages to maintain interest even when the material’s believability factor stretches more than a Speedo on Luciano Pavarotti.
Based on the best seller by John Grisham, “Runaway Jury” unfolds around a high-profile case in which the loving wife (Joanna Going of “Wyatt Earp”) of a stockbroker killed by a disgruntled worker armed with an assault weapon sues the gun manufacturer for making such easily obtainable instruments of death. Representing her in the high-profile lawsuit is Wendall Rohr (Hoffman), an attorney who fully appreciates the implications of the case when a group of gun manufacturers hires Rankin Fitch (Hackman), a vicious jury consultant who will do anything from bribing jurors to destroying lives to win a not-guilty verdict.
For Fitch, dirty tricks represent a cost of doing business. The powerful consultant and his paid assistants, including computer experts who can hack into any system and thugs who intimidate people through violence, figure the quickest route to success is to go down the list of jurors. To get a verdict in their favor, they’re willing to offer payoffs, reveal dark secrets and even torch living quarters.
Fitch seems on a roll except for an unexpected wild card. One juror, Nick Easter (John Cusack of “High Fidelity”), seems to be either a Boy Scout or the devil in disguise. He could possibly sway the jury in a direction that neither Rohr nor Fitch anticipates.
The motives of Easter provide a jolt to “Runaway Jury.” We’re suddenly swept into a world where moral issues sadly suffer due to crass business decisions, victims are all too often forgotten and powerful people truly believe that jury members can be compromised.
Fleder populates the cast with strong supporting performers such as Rachel Weisz (“About a Boy”), Bruce McGill (“Matchstick Men”), Bruce Davison (“X-Men”), Bill Nunn (“Dave”) and Nora Dunn (NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”). Thanks to such a strong cast, “Jury” ranks as enjoyably entertaining, though not a runaway success.
Postscript: John Grisham took six years adapting “Runaway Jury” for the big screen, and during that time, something very big changed. The novel focuses on a case involving smoking, but after Grisham saw Michael Mann’s “The Insider,” starring Russell Crowe in a fact-based melodrama about the way the tobacco industry hid facts concerning the addictive aspects of cigarettes, the author decided to take a new approach. He changed the villains into gun manufacturers who take no responsibility for assault weapons falling into the wrong hands.
FILM REVIEW
“Runaway Jury”
Grade: B
Starring: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Bruce McGill, Bill Nunn, Nora Dunn and Bruce Davison; screenplay by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland and Matthew Chapman, based on the novel by John Grisham; produced by Arnon Milchan, Gary Fleder and Christopher Mankiewicz; directed by Gary Fleder.
Running Time: 128 minutes.
Parental Guide: PG-13 rating (Violence, harsh four-letter profanity, adult themes).