Attorney Wendall Rohr (Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman) confronts ruthless jury consultant, Rankin Fitch (Academy Award winner Gene Hackman) in the suspense-thriller, 'Runaway Jury'. - Contributed "Is there any such thing as an objective jury?" The question posed by Nicholas Easter (played by John Cusack) forms the crucial question which unfolds in Runaway Jury. It essentially asks, does justice have a chance in today's legal system?
Runaway Jury is an interesting story, well told and featuring very competent actors to do the telling. Along with Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz takes on the lead roles. The movie is a classic case of the destination just being a bonus. What you really enjoy is the ride getting there.
The movie, based on John Grisham's novel The Runaway Jury, the movie takes a close look at a trial, and all the forces that go into influencing the verdict. The story presented here is an interesting display of jury tampering. While most law-related flicks are about the fancy footwork and fast-talking shenanigans of lawyers, The Runaway Jury clearly removes the lawyers from pride of place. Indeed most of the case is sidelined, as the attention is focused on the jury, and it is not merely a case of 12 angry men.
Next to the judge, the jury is one of the most important parts of what makes up the legal system. While one may be allowed to represent oneself, you are never allowed to be your own judge and jury. So, even if justice remains blind, can she swing her sword with accurate impartiality when jury selections are not?
Directed by Gary Flede, Runaway Jury is as smooth and slick as its players. It seems to start out fairly straightforwardly but soon evolves into an engaging suspense flick, which holds you until the very last.
Runaway Jury is a case of brilliant casting. The actors, lead and supporting, handle their jobs well. Hoffman is great as the well-principled, badly-dressed lawyer, up against the big corporations. Gene Hackman (though he isn't one in this flick) embodies everything people hate about lawyers. He is the reason lawyer jokes were invented.
The best thing about the characters, is that you do not merely read them from the get-go. The most impressively crafted of these are Marlee (Weisz) and Easter (Cusack), whose true motivations are not revealed until the end. The character Marlee simply gets more interesting with each scene in which she appears.
The cast is also made up of quite a few of those several competent supporting and bit-part actors who grease the film's wheels. Bruce Davison (X2: X-Men United), Bruce McGill (Legend of Bagger Vance and Legally Blonde 2), Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Jeremy Piven (Rush Hour 2 and Serendipity) make up the cast along with a slew of others.
As such, Runaway Jury is a good addition to the long line of movies which continue our fascination with the legal system.
