Summary
After a workplace shooting in New Orleans, a trial against the gun manufacturer pits lawyer Wendell Rohr against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch, who uses illegal means to stack the jury with people sympathetic to the defense. But when juror Nicholas Easter and his girlfriend Marlee reveal their ability to sway the jury into delivering any verdict they want, a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game begins.
Cast
John Cusack
Nick Easter
Gene Hackman
Rankin Fitch
Dustin Hoffman
Wendell Rohr
Rachel Weisz
Marlee
Bruce Davison
Durwood Cable
Bruce McGill
Judge Harkin
Jeremy Piven
Lawrence Green
Leland Orser
Lamb
Nick Searcy
Doyle
Nestor Serrano
Janovich
Stanley Anderson
Henry Jankle
Cliff Curtis
Frank Herrera
Rusty Schwimmer
Millie Dupree
Gerry Bamman
Herman Grimes
Jennifer Beals
Vanessa Lembeck
Luis Guzmán
Jerry Fernandez
Guy Torry
Eddie Weese
Rhoda Griffis
Rikki Coleman
Bill Nunn
Lonnie Shaver
Marguerite Moreau
Amanda Monroe (Fitch's Assistant)
Juanita Jennings
Loreen Duke
Nora Dunn
Stella Hulic
Joanna Going
Celeste Wood
Jason Davis
Phillip Savelle
Xuan Van Nguyen
Henry Wu
Carol Sutton
Lou Dell
Dylan McDermott
Jacob Wood (victim)
Deacon Dawson
Hoppy Dupree
David Ramsey
Jimmy Hoke
Ned Bellamy
Jerome
Orlando Jones
Russell
Margo Moorer
Kaufman
David Dwyer
Birk
Michael Arata
Raines
Wayne Ferrara
Agent Novecki
Fahnlohnee R. Harris
Sylvia Deshazo
Corri English
Lydia Deets
Douglas M. Griffin
Terry Docken
Deneen Tyler
Receptionist
Zach Hanner
Ted
Andrea Powell
Deborah
Ted Manson
Pulaski
David Jensen
Shamburg
Lori Heuring
Maxine
Adella Gautier
Voodoo Shopkeeper
Afemo Omilami
SUV Driver
Barret O'Brien
Techie
Michelle M. Miller
Reporter #1
Eric Paulsen
Reporter #2
Margaret Lawhon
Reporter #3
Gary Grubbs
Dobbs
Lark Marie Fall
Singing Woman
Marco St. John
Daley
Henry Darrow
Sebald
Don Henderson Baker
Thernstrom
Danny Kamin
Cash
Lance E. Nichols
Agent Shield
Elliott Street
Ringwald
Mike Pniewski
Strode
Joe Chrest
Owens
Marcus Hester
Kyle Murphy
Mark Jeffrey Miller
Vaughn
Stuart Greer
Kincaid
Lara Grice
Blonde Decoy
Peter Jurasik
Professor Phelan
Shannon Eubanks
Phyllis
Celia Weston
Mrs. Brandt
Harvey Reaves
Agent Crowley
Irene Ziegler
Peg Grimes
Ed Nelson
George Dressler
Bernard Hocke
Mason Foley
Loren Kinsella
Cafe Waitress
Wayne Roberts
Clerk
Mark Krasnoff
Aggressive Reporter
Christopher Mankiewicz
Bartender
Cedric Pendleton
Homeboy
Perry Brown
Potential Juror #1
Don Hood
Potential Juror #2
Elizabeth Omilami
Potential Juror #3
Claudia Coffee
Reporter #4
Charlie Detraz
Reporter #5
Sally Ann Roberts
Reporter with Cable
Kathy Seiden
Kathy
Jack Massey
Henry Wood
Crew
Director
Gary Fleder
Novel
John Grisham
Screenplay
Brian Koppelman
Screenplay
David Levien
Screenplay
Matthew Chapman
Screenplay
Rick Cleveland
Reviews
Geronimo1967
September 6, 2022
6
This offers quite an interesting look at just how seriously big business takes the selection of a jury, when large amounts of money are at stake. Gene Hackman is "Fitch", a man who makes a very good living acting on behalf of these organisations. His job is to probe into the private lives of prospective jurors, of their loves, peccadillos, politics - looking for weaknesses or reasons not to select them. This case involves one of the most contentious in the US pantheon of criminal law - the right to bear arms, and it falls to "Rohr" (Dustin Hoffman) to bring an action against a weapons manufacturer that is going to be tough. As the case proceeds, we are introduced to the less honourable nature of one of the jurors, and his girlfriend who have a plan of their own - and, as you'd expect, there is money and pressure being applied to ensure that the jury reach the "correct" verdict. Intriguing as the plot is, though, the film itself stutters along without much innovation. The courtroom scenes are a bit dreary and once we have established the premiss, Hackman's efforts are all rather repetitive and become less and less menacing and sophisticated as the story slips into a rather mediocre melodrama of private life shenanigans. Hoffman is adequate, no more, as are Rachel Weisz and John Cusack as the eagerly duplicitous but not awfully bright "Easter". Based on one of John Grisham's more inventive stories - nobody ever actually wants to be on a jury - this loses much in it's translation to film and by the mid-point I was really pretty turned off by the whole thing. It's watchable, but becomes more preposterous as it proceeds to a conclusion that, though not quite what you might expect, is still a bit flat.
Media
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$60,000,000.00
Revenue:
$80,154,140.00
