Just Cause

Just Cause (1995) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline focuses on a Harvard college professor who used to be a defense lawyer. He receives a hand delivered letter from a black death row inmate's mother pleading his innocence and requesting his assistance on their case. He reluctantly takes on the case and tries to find a crack in the original sentencing. This movie is directed by Arne Glimcher (The Mambo King) and stars Sean Connery (Medicine Man), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Blair Underwood (Deep Impact), Ed Harris (Needful Things) and Kate Capshaw (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). I had not seen this for a long time and forgot how completely different the feel was the first 2/3rds of the movie versus the final 1/3rd. The character rollout and courthouse drama is fun to watch unfold; however, the final 1/3rd seemed extremely far fetched and unbelievable. Fishburne was great in this and appropriately intense. Connery was solid but oddly awkward and gullible at times. The first 2/3rds of this movie is a 8/10 and the final 1/3rd is a 5/10 for me so I would score this film a 6.5/10 and recommend seeing it once.

The film is mediocre, but seeing Ed Harris' performance as a manipulative serial killer (I'm not giving anything away by telling you this) is worth the entire movie. Too often serial killers are played as geniuses--Jack in "The Profiler" or Kevin Spacey's character in "Seven"; Harris creates a malignant redneck monster that really will startle and chill you. No one goes from zero to sixty like Harris since George C. Scott left us; in this film he modulates his voice amazingly, sounding quietly venomous one moment and then thundering like a fire and brimstone Southern minister. In Connery's case, it's just bad casting: he plays an academic consulting lawyer (a la Dershowitz {sp?}) who combats Fishburne's menacing but canny Southern cop. Connery's other roles and the notion of him they have created in us make it impossible for him to play the effete lawyer that the script seems to call for.

This movie started out as an apparently good movie, but about halfway through it started to go to hell. The only mildly good thing about the latter half of the movie was Sean Connery, who pretty much shines through the entire movie. His acting was pretty good, and could have been a saving grace, had the movie not been so bad. The end was especially horrible, as it was a nearly total ripoff of Cape Fear(the new version, with Robert De Niro), in fact, several lines were taken directly from that same scene in the movie. The second-to worst thing is the 'twist' in the end, that was so obvious that I could just as well have been sitting there, waiting for it to happen. The worst thing is that the twist ruins everything that has happened up to that point, and makes the whole movie pointless since it directly opposes nearly everything that happened in the movie before that. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone other than huge fans of Sean Connery, or people who love to watch crime mysteries. Other than that, there is no reason to waste time on this movie. 6/10

"Just Cause" is a psychological thriller about the American justice system in general, and capital punishment in particular. Sean Connery plays Paul Armstrong, a law professor who strongly opposes capital punishment. Responding to a plea, Armstrong comes out of semi-retirement and travels to Florida to help the young, black death row prisoner Bobby Earl Ferguson, who claims he has been falsely convicted of murder. Upon investigating Bobby Earl's case, Armstrong soon discovers several grave discrepancies, to the dismay of the local police officer, Tanny Brown (played by Laurence Fishburne). Racism and blind hatred, rather than actual proof, seems to have convicted Bobby Earl; and Armstrong sets out to clear the young man's reputation. In order to succeed, he needs to find out exactly how much Bobby Earl's cell-mate, the psychotic Blair Sullivan, knows about the murder.

In a movie like this, things aren't always what they seem. There are several plot twists which surprise the audience (one of them includes Armstrong's young wife and her past), and towards the end of the film, the action really starts to set in, and Armstrong's own convictions are tested as he finds his family in the hands of a mad killer. The movie depends on atmosphere and suspense until the last twenty minutes, when all hell breaks loose. It is nicely photographed, with several scenes from the damp, alligator-filled swamps surrounding the little Florida town.

Sean Connery is reliable as the stout, solid professor Armstrong, and as the centerpiece of the movie, he is totally convincing. But as the dubious police officer Tanny Brown, it is Laurence Fishburne who truly excels. He seems to own every scene he's in, and he fills his part to perfection. Kate Capshaw as Mrs. Armstrong and Blair Underwood as Bobby Earl also delivers strong performances. Several supporting actors, like Ned Beatty and Lynne Thigpen, adds to the quality of the film. The only real drawback among the actors is Ed Harris, whose portrayal of the psycho Sullivan is embarrassingly over-the-top. Harris sputters and screams, and fails to deliver anything remotely scary (as he obviously is supposed to). Compared to another movie psycho, the deliciously evil Hannibal Lecter, Harris' Sullivan is simply annoying.

"Just Cause" doesn't offer anything radically new in this movie genre, but it is a solid, mostly well-acted film who should deliver enough thrills and excitement to satisfy most viewers. Rating on a dice, I'll give it a 4 out of 6.

Always enjoy the great acting of Laurence Fishburne,(Sheriff Tanny Brown) who becomes very upset when a professor visits his town to investigate a sort of Cold Case. This professor is a retired lawyer named Paul Armstrong, (Sean Connery) who has reason to believe that a man on death row is innocent of rape and murder of a very pretty little white girl. Sheriff Tanny does not appreciate Paul Armstrong coming to his town in Florida and starting to open up a can of worms as Tanny is very certain he has arrested the correct man and even has a confession to prove he did this evil deed. The guilt person is Blair Underwood,(Bobby Earl) who is very happy to see Paul Armstrong come to his defense and possibly clear his name and secure his freedom. There are many twists and turns to this story and plenty of action and very creepy areas in the swamps of Florida. This film will keep you glued to your screens if you have not seen this film before. Enjoy