An average movie

Since there was a pretty good cast, I was definitely eager to check this movie. Back in those days, Joel Schumacher had a pretty decent reputation as a director but 3 years later, he would direct the major bomb ‘Batman & Robin’ and his career would never really fully recover. Anyway, this flick was something entirely different, one of those John Grisham’s book adaptations which were really popular back in the 90’s. Basically, it was one of the better Grisham thrillers but it was only slightly better in my opinion. Of course, the fact that I’m not a huge fan of the genre didn’t help either I guess. The main issue with those flicks is that they build up some intriguing court room settings but then, they add the most preposterous thriller elements to make it more spectacular but I always find those rather underwhelming. Still, the plot was quite entertaining and there was indeed a really cool cast (Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, Anthony Edwards, William H. Macy). I was above all impressed by Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones who delivered some solid performances and it was also interesting to see a young very Brad Renfro in his acting debut. Renfro displayed some talent right away but, unfortunately, he had some major substance abuse issues and tragically died of an overdose 14 years later (just a couple of days after Heath Ledger as a matter of fact). Anyway, even though this flick is nothing really mind-blowing, it remains a decent thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

6/10