Runaway Jury (2003)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Gary Fleder

Writers (WGA):

John Grisham (novel)
Brian Koppelman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Trials are too important to be decided by juries.

Plot:

A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.

Plot Keywords:

Jury | Gun | Lawyer | Trial | Court

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Le maître du jeu (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Das Urteil (Germany) [de]
Das Urteil - Jeder ist käuflich (Germany) [de]
De utvalda (Sweden) [sv]
El jurado (Spain) [es]
Isepäine vandekogu (Estonia) [et]
Jüri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Juryen (Denmark) [da]
La giuria (Italy) [it]
New Orleans Trial (Japan: English title) [en]
O Júri (Brazil) [pt]
Tribunal en fuga (Argentina) [es]
Valamiehet (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40050)

Filming Locations:

Esplanade Mall - 1401 West Esplanade, Kenner, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Regency Enterprises

Trivia:

'Naomi Watts (I)' was offered the role of Marlee but turned it due to scheduling conflicts.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The female bailiff says she "baked these muffins myself", but she is clearly holding a tray of brownies.

Quotes:

Doyle: It's a set-up.

Movie Connections:

References Superman (1978)

Soundtrack:

A Bitter Tree

A pretty good movie with an excellent cast.

This movie is a favorite of mine. But, and I find it quite interesting, the BOOK is quite different from the Movie. Big Tobacco (Book) vs. The Gun Manufacturers (Movie). Otherwise, I think the movie was done quite well. And they used the strong points to really accentuate the various differences between the two. Even the music I thought was done well. Using New Orleans instead of Biloxi, MS. was probably a good move to put the topic into the emotional thoughts of mainstream city dwellers. (No offense meant to Biloxi residents either). Rachel Weisz made a good Marley, but the book always seemed to downplay her role (ImHo). But, either way, this movie is a favorite of mine to watch.

Gun's or Tobacco, no difference. I like the thoughts being portrayed of the large corporations and their impact on the people they target for profit.

And despite the book and movie differing greatly in subject matter, I'm always a fan of John Grisham's novels. But .... isn't it odd that they used a Gun Company instead of keeping with the (original) Big Tobacco companies? Is that saying that the Big Tobacco people PAID a hefty sum to keep their own image out of the movie print? (Hmm, just curious is all). How did the movie "The Insider" do it? Or were they just trying to not overlap the themes? Gun Control is probably another big topic, but the book, original plot was Tobacco.

Anyway ...., thumbs up for this movie! I gave it a 9, only because the plot differed from the movie. Normally, such a variance would've been rated a 6 or 7, but the movie was well done. As always, in my humble opinion.

The movie also made me really want to head on over to New Orleans and enjoy some of that fine fare they offer within that city. Louisiana Style!