JUST CAUSE
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0
U.S. Availability: wide release on 2/17/95 Running Length: 1:42 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, mature themes, language)
Starring: Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Capshaw, Blair Underwood, Ed Harris Director: Arne Glimcher Producers: Lee Rich, Arne Glimcher, and Steve Perry Screenplay: Jeb Stuart and Peter Stone Cinematography: Lajos Koltai Music: James Newton Howard Released by Warner Brothers
One of the most interesting things about JUST CAUSE is the number of movies it manages to allude to and copy from. By the time the closing credits are rolling, a feeling of familiarity is not only likely, but justified. It's hard to imagine any film-goer not having seen at least one of this picture's antecedents.
JUST CAUSE starts out like IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER transplanted to the 1986 Florida Everglades, with Blair Underwood as Bobby Earl Ferguson, a seemingly-innocent, Cornell-educated, young black man who is arrested for the rape and murder of a ten-year old white girl. After being taken into custody by local police big-wig Tanny Brown (Laurence Fishburne), Bobby Earl is beaten and threatened until he confesses to the crime. A trial takes place and Bobby Earl ends up on death row.
Enter Sean Connery's Paul Armstrong, a Harvard Law professor with a conscience. His agreement to appeal Bobby Earl's case turns the story in a new direction--sort of a cross between JAGGED EDGE and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. The latter is courtesy of Ed Harris, who gives a delightfully over-the-top performance as the Hannibal Lechter-like Blair Sullivan, a bible-quoting serial killer whose death row cell is near Bobby Earl's, and who knows a lot more than he's willing to reveal.
Once the references to these films are played out, JUST CAUSE offers one more "homage" (that word sounds so much nicer than "theft")--to Martin Scorsese's graphic remake of CAPE FEAR. There's even an added attraction to the climactic in-the-water struggle, and this one could have been lifted from CROCODILE DUNDEE (or, more correctly, considering the location, ALLIGATOR DUNDEE).
All-in-all, JUST CAUSE obviously doesn't offer much that's new or attention-grabbing, but the presence of several top-notch actors makes the material more appealing that it has a right to be. Connery captures our sympathy as the relentlessly upright practitioner of the law. Fishburne resurrects images of WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT's Ike Turner in Tanny Brown, a cop who has crossed the line. Harris, while not as deliciously evil as SILENCE's Anthony Hopkins, is still riveting. Supporting roles are ably filled by the likes of Ned Beatty, Daniel J. Travanti, and George Plimpton.
Despite its tendency to tread well-traveled roads, JUST CAUSE is filmed with enough energy and craft that, for the majority of its one- hundred minute running time, it's reasonably entertaining. Things don't get out of control until the last quarter-hour, when the need to inject action revs up the pace a little too much. Suddenly, we're thrown from the realm of the psychological thriller into a series of car chases, shoot-outs, and hand-to-hand combats. It's kind of unfortunate, really. But, after all, this is Hollywood, where the success of movies is often based far more on noisy struggles to the death than on thoughtful endings. Ultimately, the only thing noteworthy about JUST CAUSE's climax is how nicely cinematographer Lajos Koltai managed to photograph the final scenes. While that may be acceptable to the popcorn-munching crowd, those of us who want a little more will find this film lacking.
-James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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