The Chamber (1996)
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.0 Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 10/11/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:50 MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, mature themes, violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Lela Rochon, Raymond Barry, Bo Jackson, Robert Prosky Director: James Foley Producers: John David, Brian Grazer, and Ron Howard Screenplay: William Goldman and Chris Reese based on the novel by John Grisham Cinematography: Ian Baker Music: Carter Burwell U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
1996 has seen the birth of a new motion picture sub-genre: the Death Row story. So far, the lineup goes three deep. Leading off, back in January, was Tim Robbins' searing DEAD MAN WALKING, one of the most powerful motion pictures of the year. Following came Sharon Stone in LAST DANCE, an overwrought telling of a similar tale. Now, batting third, is the weakest of the trio, THE CHAMBER, based on the novel by the only author to rival Jane Austen for recent cinematic exposure, John Grisham.
Grisham's novels all have a depressing sameness to them, and this one is no different. We have the young, good looking hero crusading for right. Whether he wins or not isn't important, only that he gives it his best shot and, in doing so, redeems himself. Along the way, there's probably a pretty (and pretty insignificant) female sidekick willing to help him out. This isn't just the plot of THE CHAMBER, it's the plot of THE FIRM and A TIME TO KILL. And, if you do a little gender-swapping, it's also the plot of THE PELICAN BRIEF. Frankly, when you get down to it, THE CLIENT isn't all that different, either.
Tom Cruise. Matthew McConaughey. Now Chris O'Donnell. These are the "Grisham men" -- the good-looking, young actors who play basically the same hero. In THE CHAMBER, his name is Adam Hall, and, as usual when it comes to Grisham, he's a lawyer -- but one with principles, of course. His role is to defend Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman), who's been on Death Row for 16 years after being found guilty of setting a bomb that killed two children. His death warrant has just been handed down -- he has 28 days to live. Adam, having traveled from Chicago to Jackson, Mississippi to defend Sam, has that long to file the appeals and do some detective work. Otherwise, this aging racist and former Ku Klux Klan member will die in the gas chamber. So why does a young hotshot like Adam take such a hopeless case? Because Sam Cayhall is his grandfather.
As I indicated earlier, THE CHAMBER isn't so much about getting Sam off as it is about Adam exorcising his personal ghosts. The problem is, in order to get him to this point, Grisham toys with a pair of heavy issues: racism and the death penalty. And "toys" is the right word. This isn't a deep or intelligent examination of either -- it's a blatant attempt to push viewers' buttons, relying on speeches and melodrama to replace an honest, more powerful form of emoting. When someone in THE CHAMBER has something important to say, they pontificate. Too often, dialogue in this film is people talking at one another, rather than to one another.
There's an inherent danger in the way THE CHAMBER addresses its serious subject matter -- one that was apparent, but less blatant, in the most recent Grisham adaptation, A TIME TO KILL. It's all part of the Grisham formula: present facile, "tabloid" examinations of controversial issues. The danger arrives if members of the audience start mistaking Grisham's simplistic views as thoughtful presentations rather than devices to move the plot along and get us to sympathize with the protagonist.
Plot-wise, THE CHAMBER is full of seeming irrelevancies. The movie should have been streamlined better; there's no need to try to include virtually every character from the book. Some of them, like Lela Rochon's Nora Stark, could have been cut out with little loss. There are too many tangents that distract our attention from the central relationship between Adam and his soon-to-die grandfather. The only "external" character with any real importance is Adam's aunt, Lee (Faye Dunaway), who blames herself for one of her father's crimes.
Grisham likes defining characters as "good" or "evil", which is why playing the racism card is such a cop-out: by definition, racists are bad -- and most of them presented here are downright monstrous. The exception is Cayhall, who we learn may not be guilty at all. Grisham allows Sam to be painted with shades of gray, and, not surprisingly, he becomes the most interesting character in the film. Of course, that could also have something to do with the passionate portrayal given by Gene Hackman, who comes across as the cream of the crop even in a John Grisham movie. Chris O'Donnell, on the other hand, is flat, and his character is dull. We're supposed to be identifying with this guy, but he fails to grab our attention, let alone our imagination.
When it comes to the actual Death Row scenes, THE CHAMBER is especially weak. Even LAST DANCE was more impressive. There's no emotional power here, and, most importantly, no catharsis. The end of DEAD MAN WALKING put everyone in the audience through an emotional and ethical ringer, and there weren't many dry eyes in the house. THE CHAMBER, on the other hand, is mechanical and artificial, and tells you what to think. If anyone was crying at my showing, they hid it well. Ultimately, of course, that's the problem with Grisham -- he presents shallow, modern-day pulp fiction, so, when he pretends to deal with serious issues, it's all a thinly-disguised masquerade.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"We go away from our parents in youth and then we gradually come back to them; and in that moment, we have grown up." -- Ingmar Bergman
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