The Chamber (1996)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

James Foley

Writers (WGA):

John Grisham (novel)
William Goldman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Time is running out.

Plot:

A young man fresh out of law school tries to win a reprieve for his racist grandfather who is on death row.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Ku Klux Klan | Prison | Racist | Law

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chris O'Donnell	...	Adam Hall
Gene Hackman	...	Sam Cayhall
Faye Dunaway	...	Lee Cayhall Bowen
Robert Prosky	...	E. Garner Goodman
Raymond J. Barry	...	Rollie Wedge / Donnie Cayhall (as Raymond Barry)
Bo Jackson	...	Sgt. Clyde Packer
Lela Rochon	...	Nora Stark
David Marshall Grant	...	Gov. David McAllister
Nicholas Pryor	...	Judge Flynn F. Slattery
Harve Presnell	...	Atty. Gen. Roxburgh
Richard Bradford	...	Wyn Lettner
Greg Goossen	...	J.B. Gullitt (as Gregory Goossen)
Seth Isler	...	Marvin B. Kramer
Millie Perkins	...	Ruth Kramer
Sid Johnson	...	Josh Kramer

MPAA:

Rated R for violent images and some language.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34851) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | UK:12 (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Davis Entertainment

Trivia:

In a 2006 BBC TV Culture Show interview, John Grisham stated that this was the adaptation of his work he liked least

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Adam is giving his argument, he states "Men rea - to do the deed". "Men rea" is the intent portion of a crime. "Actus reaus" is the act.

Quotes:

Sam Cayhall: If you spend half as much time trying to be a lawyer instead of trying to be Dick Tracy, I might not be dead in five days.

Soundtrack:

Sister

Entertaining, Thanks To Hackman & O'Donnell

This is not one of the more famous (author) John Grisham based-movies and it's a bit talky for my normal tastes, but it was interesting. You can thank Chris O'Donnell and Gene Hackman for two excellent acting performances which helped make this so entertaining in spots.

O'Donnell plays young attorney "Adam Hall" (shades of Matt Damon's character in another Grisham movie, "The Rainmaker"). Meanwhile, it's no surprise that Hackman gives us another fascinating performance, this time as the attorney's brutally racist grandfather, "Sam Cayhall." He's been imprisoned for a murder and O'Donnell is trying to release him from a death sentence. Hackman's performance elevates from a "fair" to a "good" movie. While O'Donnell is trying to do his job, a few revelations occur considering his Klansman grandpa. Faye Dunaway also is in here and has a memorable scene with "Sam."

Yes, the critics were right in that this could have been better but they were off base blasting this film. It's still an entertaining film, and they forget the value of that.