TRIAL BY JURY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 4.0
Date Released: 9/9/94 Running Length: 1:47 Rated: R (Violence, language, mature themes)
Starring: Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Armand Assante, Gabriel Byrne, William Hurt, Kathleen Quinlan Director: Heywood Gould Producers: James G. Robinson and Chris Meledandri & Mark Gordon Screenplay: Jordan Katz and Heywood Gould Cinematography: Frederick Elmes Music: Terence Blanchard Released by Warner Brothers
It never ceases to amaze me how badly a poor script can screw up a potentially fascinating premise. Exhibit one for the prosecution: TRIAL BY JURY.
Consider Valerie Alston (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer), a civic-minded citizen who gets picked to be on the jury for the Rusty Pirone (Armand Assante) murder trial. She has every intention of following her conscience until a little visit from Pirone's henchman Tommy Vesey (William Hurt) gives her something to think about. If there's a mistrial, he claims, she and her son (wooden child actor Bryan Shilowich) will be protected. If Pirone goes to jail, both of them will die.
As the trial progresses, the evidence against Pirone mounts until no reasonable juror could consider him anything but guilty. So Valerie is faced with an unpleasant--and potentially deadly--choice: acquit and live, or convict and risk death.
The theatrical and television previews make this film look like a clever thriller centered around this dilemma. But, as is often the case, that's because such advertisements use only the best scenes. Left out are numerous instances of overacting, underacting, terrible dialogue, and poor plotting.
Despite a compelling basis for its story, Jordan Katz and Heywood Gould's screenplay vacillates between the contrived and the downright moronic. The characters are strictly one-dimensional types engaging in flat, stilted conversations. Melodrama suffuses several potentially-taut sequences, and the conclusion would be right at home in such films as BASIC INSTINCT.
Aside from a brief appearance by character actor Mike Starr (who plays a witness for the prosecution), Armand Assante gives the only noteworthy performance. His often-magnetic (and never subdued) presence only makes you aware of what this film might have been had a more competent production team taken charge.
Unfortunately, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer is unable to carry to burden of the lead role. For whatever reason, grasping Valerie's psyche seems beyond the actress (or maybe she just didn't care enough), and she comes across as stale. The only thing striking about Whalley-Kilmer is the array of glitzy outfits she gets to wear.
Kenneth Branagh's DEAD AGAIN took a dopey premise and built a solid, entertaining plot around it. TRIAL BY JURY manages to do the opposite. Even as an homage to '40s film noir flicks, it's woeful. You need more than Joanne Whalley-Kilmer doing a Rita Hayworth impersonation to accomplish that.
Quentin Tarantino's much-awaited second feature won't be in theaters for another two months. Apparently, however, TRIAL BY JURY has chosen to herald that picture. After all, the script for this film is nothing if not pulp fiction.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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