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| From master storyteller John Grisham comes RUNAWAY JURY, a suspense-thriller about a high-priced and ruthless jury "consultant" who will stop at nothing to secure a verdict on an explosive trial. |
(2003) Film Review |
| This page was created on October 20, 2003
This page was last updated on
October 23, 2003
—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About the Film
—About the Cast
—About the Crew
—Spiritual Connections
—Forum
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| CREDITS |
| Directed by Gary Fleder
Novel by John Grisham (novel)
Screenplay by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland and Matthew Chapman
 Cast (in credits order)
John Cusack .... Nicholas Easter
Gene Hackman .... Rankin Fitch
Dustin Hoffman .... Wendell Rohr
Rachel Weisz .... Marlee
Bruce Davison .... Durwood Cable
Bruce McGill .... Judge Harkin
Jeremy Piven .... Lawrence Green
Nick Searcy .... Doyle
Stanley Anderson .... Henry Jankle
Cliff Curtis .... Frank Herrera
Nestor Serrano .... Janovich
Leland Orser .... Lamb
Jennifer Beals .... Vanessa Lembeck
Gerry Bamman .... Herman Grimes
Joanna Going .... Celeste Wood
Bill Nunn .... Lonnie Shaver
Juanita Jennings .... Loreen Duke
Marguerite Moreau .... Amanda Monroe
 Produced by
Jeffrey Downer .... executive producer
Gary Fleder .... producer
Christopher Mankiewicz .... producer
Arnon Milchan .... producer
Original Music by Christopher Young
Cinematography by Robert Elswit
Film Editing by William Steinkamp
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence, language and thematic elements.
Runtime: 127 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
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| TRAILERS AND CLIPS |
| —Trailers |
| CD |
Runaway Jury (Score)
Christopher Young
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| BOOK |
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The Runaway Jury
by John Grisham
Millions of dollars are at stake in a huge tobacco-company case in Biloxi, and the jury's packed with people who have dirty little secrets. A mysterious young man takes subtle control of the jury as the defense watches helplessly, but they soon realize that he in turn is controlled by an even more mysterious young woman. Lives careen off course as they bend everyone in the case to their will.
Book Description: Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake begins routinely, then swerves mysteriously off course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juroris convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury somehow
being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more important,why?
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| POSTER |
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Runaway Jury
27 in. x 39 in.
Double-sided poster plain, or
Framed |
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| SYNOPSIS |
 From master storyteller John Grisham ("The Firm," "The Pelican Brief") comes RUNAWAY JURY, a suspense-thriller about a high-priced and ruthless jury "consultant" (Gene Hackman) who will stop at nothing to secure a verdict on an explosive
trial. With lives and millions of dollars at stake, the fixer wages a deadly battle with a jury member (John Cusack), a mysterious woman (Rachel Weisz) and an honest lawyer (Dustin Hoffman). The film marks the first pairing of screen legends Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman.
When a young widow in New Orleans brings a civil suit against the powerful corporate consortium she holds responsible for her husband's murder, she sets in motion a multi-million dollar case. But it's a suit that may be won even before it begins - based solely on the selection, manipulation and, ultimately, the attempted "theft" of the jury.
Representing the widow is Wendall Rohr (Hoffman), a courtly Southern lawyer with a moral center and a heartfelt passion for the case he's presenting. His opponent is ostensibly the attorney representing the corporation. But in reality, defense counsel is only the front man for Rankin Fitch (Hackman), a brilliant and ruthless jury consultant.
At a high tech command center set up in an old French Quarter warehouse, Fitch and his team work on the surveillance and assessment of potential jurors. He will know everything about their lives, and strategically manipulate the jury selection process. The only acceptable result is the perfect jury to vote in favor of his client.
Fitch and Rohr soon realize they're not the only ones out to win the jury. One of the jurors, Nick Easter (Cusack), seems to have his own plan for swaying the panel. And a mysterious woman known only as Marlee (Weisz) contacts both Rohr and Fitch telling them the jury's for sale to either of them - and that the verdict won't come cheap.
While the case is argued in court, a dangerous cat and mouse game begins to play out in New Orleans' French Quarter. Rohr's morality put to the test, and Fitch is poised to cross the line from selecting a jury to stealing it - no matter who gets hurt in the process.
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REVIEW BY
DAVID BRUCE
Host of HollywoodJesus.com
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 The buzz on this film has to do with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman in a film together . They have real life buddies for over 40 years. And together they do such an excellent job in this film. In music terminology, Hoffman has been characterized as "jazz" (improv
acting style) and Hackman as "classic" (precise acting style) and in concert they create wonderful music together with amazing counter point. They are simply a joy to watch.
This suspense-thriller comes from John Grisham doing what he is famous for —good story telling. 
This story revolves around Rankin Fitch (Hackman) who is a stop-at-nothing high-priced jury consultant who secures juries. He is up against an honest lawyer Wendell Rohr (Hoffman) who believes truth is the best offence.
 In this particular case, jury member (Cusack) and a mysterious woman named Marlee (Weisz) give Rankin Fitch a run for his money. But who is these mysterious couple? What are they doing? Which side are they on? Or, is there something else going on? It's an excellent story,
filled with surprises and revelations.
Here is the classic battle of good and evil set in the context of a jury room.
Spoilers: Now with a name like Nicholas Easter, you know something is a foot in the mind of Grisham. Nicholas has to do with Christmas
(incarnation) and his last name has to do with, well... Easter! (resurrection). And sure enough, true to his name, Nicholas incarnates himself into this particular jury. And he is able to bring an Easter resurrection to an injustice that happened years ago at the hands of the same people who are trying to secure this jury. 
There are other little hints in this film, like the butterfly (a symbol of metamorphous death and resurrection) in relation to the Marlee character. Her name means "descendent of Mary." In the biblical story, a young woman by the name of Mary brings forth the Redeemer Savior. In this story Marlee brings for a sense of redemption to past injustice.
The meaning of other names are note worthy as well. Wendell (the good attorney) is a German name meaning "Seeker". And the evil attorney's name, Fitch, means "Ermine", a bold little carnivore ferret-like mammal.
The over riding themes in this film are justice and mercy.
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Publicity information and images © 2003 Fox. All Rights Reserved.
Photos by Zade Rosenthal - © 2003 Monarchy Enterprises S.a.r.l. and Regency Entertainment (USA), Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication.
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