FOR ONE JUROR, THE QUESTION OF GUILT OR INNOCENCE IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH… HER OWN.
When mob boss Rusty Pirone (Armand Assante) is brought to trial, his hit man (William Hurt) approaches one of the jurors (Joanne Whalley), threatening to kill her son if she doesn’t talk the jury into acquitting Pirone. A sleazy thriller with absolutely risible dialogue. Script and the direction is so over-the-top one has to assume it’s all a smokescreen, trying to hide the fact that we’ve seen everything here before. Whalley’s unsatisfactory performance doesn’t make it any easier to care for her juror in jeopardy. Some novelty is provided by Hurt as the likable killer.
1994-U.S. 107 min. Color. Directed by Heywood Gould. Cast: Joanne Whalley-Kilmer (Valerie Alston), Armand Assante (Rusty Pirone), Gabriel Byrne (Daniel Graham), William Hurt, Kathleen Quinlan, Margaret Whitton. Cameo: David Cronenberg.
