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:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The character of Rollie Wedge was beefed up considerably from the novel with the aim that Jack Nicholson would play him. Things didn't quite go according to plan and the part went to the lesser known actor, Raymond J. Barry, instead.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Sam Cahall states that the new law allowing him to opt for lethal injection applied only to inmates convicted after 1984. Actually it was just the opposite: Those convicted after 1984 could only have lethal injection. Before 1984 convicts could choose between lethal injection and the gas chamber.

Quotes:

Nora Stark: You're in Mississippi now - land of the secrets. There are bodies buried everywhere.

Soundtrack:

Fine Mi Lassa

Not a bad concept

I just finished watching this after I just finished hearing about it. I'll say it's not great, but its definitely worth the time to watch.

You have a very dramatic story of a murdering bigot's grandson (who's a lawyer) trying to save his grandfather (Gene Hackman) from his execution in 28 days. Just from their you know the plot is going to thicken.

When I saw this movie had Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway I said "great I love those actors". It's also got Chris O'Donnell, OK not a bad actor (but does he remind anyone else of Matthew Perry?), and it's even got Bo Jackson.

I was surprised by a few things. One was that, Bo Jackson, despite not having many lines, was quite good at acting. Another less pleasant was that, as much as I love her, Faye Dunaway did not do an overly impressive performance. Watch her in "Bonnie and Clyde" and then compare her to THIS role... you're not even on the same chart. Playing a rich Southern Bell is maybe more difficult for her, but she did have a few good scene's playing a drunk. One thing that didn't surprise me was Gene Hackman. Mr. Hackman is undoubtedly a great actor, is this movie he made no exception. He definitely needs to give thanks to his make up crew, but he certainly delivered the punches. The emotions he showed seemed so powerful, like he's really ready to join in a lynching. But he's also prepared, not ready, but prepared to forgive.

Really i think that the only problem with this movies was the scenes without Gene Hackman. The rest of the scenes made everything seem more like a "Made for TV movie". The chemistry between Adam Hall (Chris O'Donnell) and Nora Stark (Lela Rochon) was played off of more when they WEREN'T together. With better acting this could have been a much better film. But still it was not bad.

Kudos to John Grisham for the novel, It's a good idea, it wasn't played out as well as it could have... But still, it's still worth while watching.