The translation of a novel into film has never been and nor will it ever be easy. Filmmakers simply cannot present the depth or nuance an author can put into a book. On the other hand, filmmakers and their actors put actual life into the written word in a way no single reader’s imagination can – just consider the difference between reading “The Godfather” or seeing it. Still, there are good ways and bad ways to translate a novel to the big screen. Today I’ll look at “Runaway Jury,” which was adapted from the bestseller by John Grisham. It’s flawed, but also a good effort with a nice depth to its cast.
‘Runaway Jury’
(2003; 127 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman)
A NICE RIDE BY MANIUPULATING THE JURY
(NOTE: I reorganized this review and expanded it with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on March 23, 2020. I again expanded the review on July 20, 2024. I updated the review on Feb. 27, 2025, to note the death of Gene Hackman.)
Gene Hackman is a great actor and there would be very few superlatives missing at any tribute to him and his career on screen. The film “Runaway Jury” from the bestseller by John Grisham is just one of many examples of Hackman’s work, but he gives such a pure effort that it has to be in the top five of his career.
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I’m sorry to report that I cannot say the same for the other superstar on the marquee, as Dustin Hoffman gives an energetic, but at the same time, lifeless performance. The two actors have a great showdown scene and it is an “A-” for effort and effect, but it could have been an “A+” if Hoffman was bringing his best game. He doesn’t.
In short, Hoffman plays “Wendell Rohr” and is an attorney representing a woman whose husband was killed by a gunman at his office in a mass slaying. She’s suing the firearms company that made the weapon (in the book, Grisham tackled the tobacco industry). Hackman is the conscienceless jury-tampering gunslinger “Rankin Fitch” and is on permanent retainer to guarantee that the gun industry wins every lawsuit filed against any manufacturer.
The film explores the cat-and-mouse game played by juror “Nicholas Easter” played by John Cusack and his girlfriend “Marlee” played by Rachel Weisz as they try to “sell” the verdict to Hoffman and his legal counterpart on the gun team. Hackman is soon spinning his webs in a vicious circle trying first to identify Weisz and then why she and Cusack are putting the jury up for sale.
It’s an interesting ride and there are some scenes and portions of the story that could have been better executed, but, overall, you’ll enjoy this one.
Now, for a look at the top of the cast …
- A two-time Oscar winner and three-time nominee and four-time winner and five-time nominee for Golden Globes (but not for this one) , Hackman is at his mean, nasty and low-down best, but not as good as in his work in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.” He is condescending and arrogant and you can easily feel the menace he conveys in the part. I wouldn’t have wanted any other actor in this role. Hackman has been just about outstanding in everything from his Oscar-winning and Globe-nominee turn in “The French Connection” (click here to read my review) and his Ocar- and Globe-winning effort in “Unforgiven.” I thought he did underappreciated work in the little-remembered “Target” with Matt Dillon (click here to read my review). Hackman’s nominations are for the seminal “Bonnie and Clyde,” “I Never Sang for my Father” and “Mississippi Burning” with Willem Dafoe. Sports fans will remember him as “Norman Dale” in the hoops movie “Hoosiers” (click here to read my review). Hackman, who was a native of California, was found dead at his home in New Mexico in February 2025 at the age of 95.
- It’s almost sad to watch Hoffman, also a two-time Oscar winner and five-time nominee (not for this one), try to get everything out of what he puts into his character here. He has his usual energy, but it just falls flat. I’m not sure why, since he’s such a terrific actor. In any case, a different casting for this character would have helped the film. Of course, like Hackman, just about all of Dustin’s work is top-notch and well-remembered. He won for the overrated crapfest called “Kramer vs. Kramer” and for “Rain Man” (where Tom Cruise should have earned the Oscar, not him) and was nominated for “Tootsie,” Bob Fosse’s “Lenny” and “Midnight Cowboy.” I liked him even better in his two other nominated films: the classic drama “The Graduate” (click here to read my review) and “Wag the Dog” (click here to read my review) with Robert De Niro. Finally, he was simply terrific with Robert Redford as Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein in “All the President’s Men” (click here to read my review).
- Actually, Jeremy Piven, a Golden Globe winner and five-time nominee (not for this one), who plays Hoffman’s ally “Lawrence Green,” should have had the part of “Wendell Rohr” and Hoffman left with “Green.” A very good film would have then become excellent. Piven is underrated as an actor and can keep up with anyone and he shows it here in his brief time on screen. He earned his Globe and nominations for HBO’s wonderful series “Entourage” and I enjoyed him in the “Entourage” movie in 2015 (click here to read my review). He also won three Primetime Emmys and one nomination for the TV series “Entourage” from HBO. Piven was also solid in the Christmas film “The Family Man” with Nicolas Cage (click here to read my review) as well as the quirky hitman movie “Grosse Pointe Blank” with Cusack (click here to read my review).
- A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), Cusack is the actor with the most screen time and first billing in the credits and he does a competent job here as the conniving, convincing juror with an ulterior motive you won’t see – but will easily guess – until the end. Cusack has done better work and I like him best as the conflicted assassin in “Grosse Point Blank” (click here to read my review) and he was quite solid with Billy Bob Thornton in “Pushing Tin” about air traffic controllers (click here to read my review). However, even a so-so performance by Cusack is better than most. Cusack has also been in “Sixteen Candles” and earned his nomination for “High Fidelity.” He doesn’t just do great drama, as you’ll find with him in “Hot Tub Time Machine” and its sequel.
- The female lead and love interest of Cusack is Oscar winner and nominee (not for this one) Weisz and, like her movie partner, does a good, solid job. Weisz does the best job in not trying to force her character on the audience she has the talent to avoid being somewhat annoying as “Marlee” – and other actors would have failed on that note. I say she’s perfectly cast here and I couldn’t see an A-list star such as Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Aniston in the same role because of her persona. Still, I’d say that Weisz somehow doesn’t make the most of it. Weisz won for “The Constant Gardner” and was nominated for 2018’s “The Favourite” (nice British spelling!). If you’re looking for other efforts by Weisz, then check out “The Lobster,” “The Mummy” and “The Bourne Legacy.” Also, she more than held her own in a great cast as a Russian sniper in World War II with “Enemy at the Gates” (click here to read my review).
Now, on to some of the supporting cast.
- Bruce McGill, who you should remember best as “D-Day” in “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” plays “Judge Frederick Harkin” and his voice and physical presence best bring his character to life. McGill was “Sheriff Farley” in another courtroom film: “My Cousin Vinny” (that reminds me, Marisa Tomei, who won an Oscar for “Vinny,” would have been a great “Marlee”). He was also solid in two other films I heartily encourage you to watch: The Farrelly brothers’ “Shallow Hal” (click here to read my review) and the HBO movie “Recount” (click here to read my review).
- Cliff Curtis as “Frank Herrera” and Gerry Bamman as the blind “Herman Grimes” are the best supporting actors and both play jurors and give credible performances. However, neither one manages to elevate his character, but I’m not sure, given their screen time, if any other actor could have done better. Curtis was also in “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Three Kings,” while Bamman is most recognized as cranky “Uncle Frank” in the first two “Home Alone” movies (click here to read my review).
Through all the twists and turns in the plot, the film never manages to convey the nuance that Grisham did in the book. However, this is not a criticism since no film can truly equal the book (outside of “The Godfather” or, very close, “The Day of the Jackal” – click here to read my review) and you can find an awfully good effort here. The twist at the end is handled well in the film and it is even better for tension than the book. So, I’ll give director Gary Fleder a thumbs-up for doing a good job.
Finally and with a sigh, filmmakers even streamlined the name of the book, which has “The” in the title. I’ll simply never understand why filmmakers change the name of a title or a character’s name. Each was chosen for a specific work and do not need “translating” to the big screen.
“Runaway Jury” was the 59th ranked film of 2003 at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo. However, it did finish ahead of “Agent Cody Banks” and the dreadful Diane Lane chick flick “Under the Tuscan Sun,” but lagged far behind the top trio of the year: “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” ($377 million), “Finding Nemo” ($339.7 million) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” ($305.4 million). Wiki reports that “Runaway Jury” ultimately made $80.1 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million. “Runaway Jury” is the only film from 2003 that I’ve reviewed … hmmm, I guess I’ll have to find a couple more …
Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):
- “Runaway Jury” was the 10th film with both Cusack and Piven.
- OMG … audiences dodged a bullet with this: Early in the “Runaway Jury” development, plans called for Gwyneth Paltrow to play “Marlee.” Ouch! That talentless hack (except for her work in “Shallow Hal” with the Farrelly brothers) would have been a death knell to any chance the film had of even being adequate.
- Naomi Watts was offered the part of “Marlee,” but turned it down due to a schedule conflict. Well, I’ll say that audiences were best served with this decision because Weisz is hand-down better than Watts. Amanda Peet was also in the running, but I simply don’t see her being “Marlee.”
- Directly from IMDb.com: “This is Gene Hackman‘s and Dustin Hoffman‘s first film together. At the Pasadena Playhouse, they were classmates, and were both voted “Least Likely to Succeed.”
- “Runaway Jury” is the third film adapted from a work by Grisham in which Hackman has worked.
- Dylan McDermott has an uncredited role as the husband killed at the start of the film in the shooting that sparked the lawsuit. He has also been Clint Eastwood’s partner in “In the Line of Fire” (click here for my review) and on TV’s “The Practice.”
- Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “In 1997, Edward Norton was originally cast in the role of Nicholas Easter with Joel Schumacher Sir Sean Connery and Gwyneth Paltrow were cast in the roles of Fitch and Marlee, respectively. But when Schumacher dropped out of the project, and it was delayed, the actors moved on to other projects. The project was revived in 2001 when Will Smith was in talks to play Nicholas Easter, with Jennifer Connelly as Marlee, and Mike Newell directing. But Smith dropped out and the project was again stalled.”
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