I watched this movie in my early 20s, 30s, and now, in my 40s. The first time I played it, I didn’t even finish it. I was looking for something more action-packed and not some courtroom shenanigans. No matter how interesting they were. I not only finished it the second time I played it but I also loved its atmosphere, pacing, and the indictment of the American justice system. Only now, in my early 40s, I was able to fully take in all the issues it was exploring and appreciate it for what it really is. Runaway Jury is a legal thriller luring unsuspecting viewers with its gripping story only to expose them to some pretty serious issues our society still struggles with.
It’s based on John Grisham’s 1996 novel of the same name. We will be following Nicholas Easter, a jury member who will soon find himself in a lot of trouble. You see, the trial he’s a part of is a high-stakes trial of the gun industry. Full of cash, the gun lobby hires Rankin Fitch, a devious jury consultant whose job is to swing the verdict. However, as we’ll soon find out, that will be a difficult task. In case the plot of this movie sounds a bit familiar it’s because back in 1996, when the original novel was published, The Juror premiered. Starring Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, and James Gandolfini, it’s a bit messy but still worth checking out.
In case you missed it, although I’m not sure how would you, Runaway Jury is a movie that puts the entire gun industry and their powerful lobby on trial. It does so in a quite sly way, dedicating a surprisingly small amount of time to the actual argument. But the issue is there along with another hot topic we’re still struggling with: gun violence. In the original novel, the tobacco industry was on trial. The release of a highly successful thriller already featuring that topic, The Insider, forced that particular change in the script. When you add to this Machiavellian approach to jury selection and the subsequent trial, you have yourself quite a combustible mix of topics.
I guess that in politics you have gerrymandering and in trials you have jurymandaring. You would expect this movie to be some preachy and pretentious ramblings against our glorious US and A. But you would be wrong as Runaway Jury is an entertaining and flashy thriller just showing things as they are. The character development is excellent as in almost any other Grisham novel. And the pacing is just right, making this two-hour movie just fly by. Additionally, it’s quite down-to-earth and it genuinely tries to explain these complex issues to the average viewer. It’s not trying to impress you with big legal terms or something like that.
Director Gary Fleder did a good job here, just like he did with a couple of his other nineties thrillers. I’m talking about movies like Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead and Kiss the Girls. I especially want to mention his early 2000s thriller Don’t Say a Word which features a similar atmosphere and cinematography. Runaway Jury stars John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, and the legend that is Gene Hackman. Too bad Dustin Hoffman didn’t get more screen time but what can you do? Oddly enough, this was the first time Gene and him were in a movie together despite being friends since 1956.
They were both at the Pasadena Playhouse theater where they were both voted least likely to succeed. Something they proved was wrong way back in the seventies. The supporting cast is just as good featuring the likes of Jeremy Piven, Cliff Curtis, and Bill Nunn. The entire story is set in the colorful and vibrant city of New Orleans. The filming took place just two years before the horrific hurricane Katrina almost destroyed this beautiful place. Finally, if you’re looking for a good movie about juries, 12 Angry Men is a masterpiece.
Director: Gary Fleder
Writers: John Grisham, Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Cast: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Rachel Weisz, Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Davison, Jeremy Piven
Fun Facts: Unlike in other nineties movies, Runaway Jury features a lot of correct IT jargon. For example, Nick’s hard drive was not “zeroed” which means he only deleted the data missing the additional step of adding the binary character zero to all of the hard drive clusters. Even with this extra step, the extraction of data is still possible. If you want to wipe a drive clean you have to fill it with random data at least ten times over.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313542/
