Trial by Jury (1994)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Heywood Gould

Writers (WGA):

Jordan Katz (written by) and
Heywood Gould (written by)

Release Date:

9 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

For one juror, the question of guilt or innocence is a matter of life or death... her own.

Plot:

Valerie is a juror in the trail of a mob boss. When her young son's life is threatened, she has no option other than to see that justice isn't done.

Plot Keywords:

Mob Boss | Inmate | Organized Crime | Rape | Home Invasion

Cast

Joanne Whalley	...	Valerie Alston (as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer)
Armand Assante	...	Rusty Pirone
Gabriel Byrne	...	Daniel Graham
William Hurt	...	Tommy Vesey
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Wanda
Margaret Whitton	...	Jane Lyle, Juror
Ed Lauter	...	John Boyle
Richard Portnow	...	Leo Greco
Lisa Arrindell Anderson	...	Eleanor Lyons
Jack Gwaltney	...	Teddy Parnell
Graham Jarvis	...	Mr. Duffy, Foreman
William R. Moses	...	Paul Baker, Juror
Joe Santos	...	Johnny Verona
Beau Starr	...	Phillie
Bryan Shilowich	...	Robbie, Valerie's Son

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (some sequences) | Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Quotes:

Tommy Vesey: The name of the game, Valerie, is not who dies but who dies first. That'll be your boy.

Soundtrack:

All The Way

Doesn't totally convince but is better than "The Juror"!

Pirone (Armand Assante) is a mob boss being brought to trial by DA Graham (Gabriel Bryne). When the star witness is whacked Graham replaces him with another mob boss. Pirone targets once of the jury, a single mother Valerie (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) using dirty ex-cop Vesey (William Hurt) to get close to her. Valerie must hang the jury or risk her and her son being killed.

This is a solid mob courtroom thriller with a edge. The story is interesting because you're not sure how Whalley-Kilmer will deal with the situations she is put in - it is quite tense for most of the movie. The actors are all good, Hurt especially plays against type with his shady dirty cop, Bryne does well but Whalley-Kilmer is not that good. Given the demands of the lead character Valerie it may have benefited from a better actress - that said she carries off the innocent single mother role convincingly. All the mob roles are played by actors who you'll see in lots of other gangster flicks including Goodfellas, The Sopranos etc. Some other interesting faces appear - William R. Moses of Perry Mason TVM "fame" appears as a jury, while David Cronenberg has a walk-on part as a film director.

While Whalley-Kilmer doesn't totally convince in Valerie's character change towards the films conclusion the majority of the plot holds together well. If you've seen Demi Moore in "The Juror" then this is similar in plot but "Trial by Jury" is a much stronger film.