Trial by Jury

TRIAL BY JURY is an example of a movie that doesn't realize how funny it is. Take the scene where Joann Whalley-Kilmer is seduced by Armand Assante, although he is leering at her sleazily the whole time Assante is on trial.(she is a jury member, see) Then things get real silly with all the plot twists, and a real hammy slow-burn performance by Gabriel Byrne. I caught the film one day on pay cable, and once again recently on TNT, and the funniest thing was, the actors kept a straight face the whole time.

Which brings me to Whalley-Kilmer. Who gave her this Ashley Judd part? Not to say that Whalley-Kilmer isn't game in her part as the dumbest-smartest jury member in the world. But Judd is much better at making these unbelievable legal "thrillers" bareable(i.e. DOUBLE JEAPORDY). I love when Hollywood makes a film that it doesn't know is as funny as it is.

This film is so much better than The Juror. William Hurt is outstanding as a conflicted man, Kathleen Quinlan is amazingly creepy in her role, the tension between Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and the others, Armand Assante in particular, is emotional and well done. You will feel her isolation and fear. You will feel Gabriel Byrne's frustration as he tries to catch the mob boss and and work within the law only to have the legal system perverted by the influence of that mob. You will see how his character, who grew up with the mobster (Assante) could easily have gone in that direction. It has a great supporting cast with people like Joe Santos, Ed Lauter and Margaret Whitton. The film is also done in a film noir style. If you like classy films, you'll love it.

"Trial By Jury" is one of the better psychological thrillers I have seen because it sucks the viewer in with each scene. As I began to watch this film I noticed that it had elements of "12 Angry Men" and "The Juror," both of which were great movies, therefore I knew this would be of the same caliber.

The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Armand Assante, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and William Hurt. They all bring a style to the film that can only be matched by the brilliant ways of making it believable. I found all the actors were playing a different from what they were accustomed to, which was a real treat because if actors play the same thing over and over it gets boring.

This a legal thriller that plays around with the mind and when movies do this you can only hang on for the ride. Kilmer delivers an awesome performance as the terrified juror. It made me sit up and take a look at how talented she is. For example, in the climax of the movie she is at her best, but you will have to see the movie.

Speaking of performances, the one turned in by Gabriel Byrne made me a fan of his work because he showed that he has a passion making movies and making them good. In "Trial By Jury" he never let up in his pursuit of justice.

"Trial By Jury" was a very slow movie but it is well worth the wait. I hope everyone likes it as much as I did.

This improbable thriller about a woman juror (Whaley) who is kidnapped (and worse) in order to coerce her into voting to acquit a mob boss (Assante) who is on trial for murder, was better than I expected it to be. The plot is preposterous but the performances are excellent, particularly Hurt's as an alcoholic ex-cop who does part time work for the mobster. The appropriate time to watch this movie would be Saturday morning. Nevertheless, it is all right. I gave it a "6."

More often that not, I'll call a movie overrated, but this one, I think, is underrated. It features solid acting and a very involving story.

There isn't as much violence as most modern-day crime movies and that's fine because this story doesn't need it. The profanity is also lower-than-normal. All that's missing is better cinematography.

Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Armand Assante, Gabirel Byrne and William Hurt all make this interesting and provide good performances. This is a good attention-diverting movie that is a good "date movie," too. It's tense without a ton of the usual overdone violence and profanity.