Derek Winnert

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This article was written on 12 Mar 2014, and is filled under Reviews.

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Runaway Jury **** (2003, John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman) – Classic Movie Review 902

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Director Gary Fleder’s 2003 thriller stars Gene Hackman as the splendidly slimy jury fixer Rankin Fitch, whose motto is ‘Trials are too important to be left up to juries’. Anyone who’s ever done jury service hoping for a fair trial would probably agree with that.

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But then, in this engrossing adaptation of one of John Grisham’s legal bestsellers, a fair trial’s totally out of the question as Hackman’s Fitch vets potential jurors for his rich clients to ensure they get the verdicts they want. Fitch is working for a company of gun-makers, the defendants in a controversial firearms control case, started by the widow (Joanna Going) of an attorney (Dylan McDermott) gunned down when office staff are massacred by an angry colleague.

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Dustin Hoffman also stars as Wendell Rohr, the Louisiana prosecuting lawyer who is suing the gun-makers. And John Cusack plays Nicholas Easter, a member of the jury, who is willing to swing the vote in favour of the highest bidder with the help of mystery woman Marlee (Rachel Weisz).

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With actors of this calibre firing on all cylinders in this lavish adaptation, John Grisham’s legal potboiler The Runaway Jury really does come to the boil quickly and stays there throughout. It provides a large helping of twisty entertainment while scoring a few important home truths about guns and juries along the way.

The screenplay by David Levien and Brian Koppelman (who also wrote Rounders, Walking Tall and Ocean’s Thirteen) is a winner.

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Fleder also directed Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995), Kiss the Girls (1997) and Homefront (2013).

http://derekwinnert.com/things-to-do-in-denver-when-youre-dead-1995-classic-film-review-904/

http://derekwinnert.com/rounders-classic-film-review-392/

http://derekwinnert.com/kiss-the-girls-1997-morgan-freeman-classic-film-review-889/

http://derekwinnert.com/homefront-film-review/

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Film Review 902 derekwinnert.com

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