Just Cause (1995)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Arne Glimcher

Writers (WGA):

John Katzenbach (novel)
Jeb Stuart (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Buried deep in the Florida Everglades is a secret that can save an innocent man or let a killer kill again.

Plot:

Bobby Earl is facing the electric chair for the murder of a young girl. Eight years after the crime he calls in Paul Armstrong...

Plot Keywords:

Florida | Murder | Police | Death Row | Prison

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Paul Armstrong
Laurence Fishburne	...	Sheriff Tanny Brown
Kate Capshaw	...	Laurie Prentiss Armstrong
Blair Underwood	...	Bobby Earl
Ed Harris	...	Blair Sullivan
Christopher Murray	...	Detective T.J. Wilcox
Ruby Dee	...	Evangeline
Scarlett Johansson	...	Katie Armstrong
Daniel J. Travanti	...	Warden
Ned Beatty	...	McNair
Liz Torres	...	Delores Rodriguez
Lynne Thigpen	...	Ida Conklin
Taral Hicks	...	Lena Brown
Victor Slezak	...	Sgt. Rogers
Kevin McCarthy	...	Phil Prentiss

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Collier County, Florida, USA

Company:

Fountainbridge Films

Trivia:

Hope Lange's final theatrical film.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: FSU (Florida State University) does not have a college of law. Ned Beatty's character said he got his law degree at FSU.

Quotes:

McNair: [McNair was Bobby Earl's inefficient defence attorney] Regardless of what you may think of me, I did defend that boy to the very best of my abilities. And, boy, has it cost me. Hell, I lost half of my business from defending that son-of-a-bitch. And he got the chair. You have any idea what my life would be like if I had gotten him acquitted?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Tracey Fragments (2007)

Soundtrack:

Beto's Fifth

"In the heat of the night"-lite

Despite having a first-rate cast and a half-decent story this never builds up the necessary head of steam to keep us fully interested. It's a bit like "In the heat of the night" with the Poitier/Stieger roles reversed. Here it's Connery in the do-gooder Poitier role while the black Fishburne takes the Stieger part.

Bobby Earl is on death row for the rape and murder of a young white girl. He enlists the help of Connery's law professor to take his case on board arguing that serial killer Ed Harris has confessed to the murder while in jail. The plot is fairly predictable but is not unexciting. It's just that once we know who the bad guys are there really isn't very much else left. (The director, Arne Glimcher, never seems to be on top of the material).

Although effectively the stars neither Connery or Fishburne have much to do. Luckily we have the great Ed Harris exuding genuine menace as the incarcerated serial killer, wielding his power, Hannibal Lector style from inside his prison walls, while Blair Underwood as Bobby Earl displays real promise, suave and bland enough to make you wonder if he is guilty or not.