The Juror (1996)

When Annie Laird is selected as a juror in a big Mafia trial, she is forced by someone known as "The Teacher" to persuade the other jurors to vote "not guilty". He threatens to kill her son... See full summary »

Director:

Brian Gibson

Writers:

George Dawes Green (novel), Ted Tally (screenplay)

Stars:

Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Demi Moore	...	Annie Laird
Alec Baldwin	...	Teacher
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Oliver Laird
James Gandolfini	...	Eddie
Lindsay Crouse	...	Tallow
Anne Heche	...	Juliet
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Louie Boffano
Michael Constantine	...	Judge Weitzel
Matt Craven	...	Boone
Todd Susman	...	Bozeman
Michael Rispoli	...	Joseph Boffano
Julie Halston	...	Inez
Frank Adonis	...	DeCicco
Matthew Cowles	...	Rodney
Polly Adams	...	Forewoman

Storyline

When Annie Laird is selected as a juror in a big Mafia trial, she is forced by someone known as "The Teacher" to persuade the other jurors to vote "not guilty". He threatens to kill her son if she doesn't commit. When the trial is over, he can't let her go...

---

Plot Keywords:

mafia | car falling off a cliff | threat | betrayal | obsession | 

---

Taglines:

There is no defense.

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Jurada

Filming Locations:

Harriman State Park, Bear Mountain, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$44,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$44,834,712 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary R. Wordham was the name of the actor that is credited as the flirting intern at the hospital. This was also the name that was used on the passport Alec Baldwin's character used when he flew to Guatemala.

---

Goofs

While the Teacher is holding Joseph's hand and firing his gun, he shoots the second bodyguard and with the second shot, you can see the cable across the bodyguard's left knee helping him to flip over.

---

Quotes

Teacher: All you need to say is two words... two specfic words, though. What they are? 'Not. Guilty.'

---

Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Danny Aiello/Coolio (1996)

---

Soundtracks

"All of Me"
Written by Seymour Simons & Gerald Marks

User Reviews

About to do your civic duty?

A surprise when I saw the ratings here! I watched without checking ratings first; I thought it deserved better. I liked the film on several levels: Acting (Moore, Gandolfini, Heche, and Baldwin), plot (plausible), and suspense (twists, timing, ending). That Moore apparently received the Razzie award for worst actress is simply incomprehensible – I thought she was completely compelling in her role as single mother who is threatened along with her teenage son by the mob unless she cooperates as a juror in rendering a not-guilty verdict for a guilty mobster. Baldwin is evil incarnate – on the surface charming, brilliant, handsome, erudite, sophisticated, spiritual, artistic – all of which makes him more frightening. He is as crazy as they come.

Annie finds herself with an impossible dilemma: do as the mob says and save her kid and herself, or do the "right thing" and turn the mob in to the authorities, which would of course place her son and herself in immediate lethal danger. Rather than jump to a decision, she struggles; she goes this way and that, unsure, terrified. I think this is the way most of us would act if put in a similar situation. It is a monstrous choice, a Sophie's choice; there is no simple solution, and the film doesn't pretend there is.

The plot interweaves in and out, with unexpected but fully explainable twists, getting ever more complex. I found myself wondering how Annie was going to get out of this mess – what's the answer to this terrible spot she's in, and how will it end? The film does a good job of making us care about how it ends.

Baldwin's character is electric – once introduced, his presence is literally ubiquitous, with eavesdropping microphones and break-ins. At one point Annie finds a note left for her in her home: "I will always be with you." You sense he means it, and is completely able to carry it off. His psychosis has invaded her life like a cancer.

My only hesitation to give it a higher rating is some rather inexplicable events at the climax ending, but given all that precedes it, easily forgiven. Otherwise, first rate. This is one scary film, one that will stay with me for a long time, and certainly the next time my name is drawn for jury duty.