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Runaway Jury

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This article is about the film. For the novel, see The Runaway Jury.

Runaway Jury
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Fleder
Screenplay by
Based onThe Runaway Jury
by John Grisham
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert Elswit
Edited by
Music byChristopher Young
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • October 17, 2003 (2003-10-17)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million
Box office$80.2 million

Runaway Jury is a 2003 American legal thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz. An adaptation of John Grisham's 1996 novel The Runaway Jury, the film pits lawyer Wendell Rohr (Hoffman) against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Hackman), who uses unlawful means to stack the jury with people sympathetic to the defense. Meanwhile, a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game begins when juror Nicholas Easter (Cusack) and his girlfriend Marlee (Weisz) appear to be able to sway the jury to deliver any verdict they want in a trial against a gun manufacturer.

The film was released on October 17, 2003 by 20th Century Fox. It received generally positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office, grossing $80.2 million worldwide against a $60 million budget. It is Hackman's penultimate film.[1]

Plot

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In New Orleans, an ex-employee perpetrates a mass shooting with a machine pistol at a stock brokerage firm. Eleven people are killed and several others wounded in the incident. Among the dead is Jacob Wood. Two years later, with attorney Wendell Rohr, Jacob's widow Celeste takes Vicksburg Firearms to court on the grounds that the company's gross negligence led to her husband's death. During jury selection, jury consultant Rankin Fitch and his team communicate background information on each of the jurors through electronic surveillance to defense attorney Durwood Cable, who is in the courtroom.

In the jury pool, Nick Easter attempts to get himself excused from jury duty. Judge Frederick Harkin refuses, claiming he's giving him a lesson in civic duty, and Fitch tells Cable that the judge has now given them no choice but to select Nick as a juror. Nick's congenial manner wins over his fellow jurors, but Frank Herrera, a Marine veteran, takes an instant dislike to him.

A woman named Marlee makes an offer to Fitch and Rohr by phone: she will deliver the desired verdict to the first bidder. Rohr dismisses the offer, assuming it to be a tactic by Fitch to obtain a mistrial. Fitch asks for proof that she can deliver, though, which she provides by asking if he "feels patriotic" and then having the jury pledge allegiance to the flag. By observing the jurors' behaviour through concealed cameras, Fitch identifies Nick as the influencer and orders his apartment to be searched, but finds nothing.

Marlee retaliates by getting one of Fitch's jurors bounced. Fitch then blackmails three jurors, leading Rikki Coleman, to attempt suicide. He also sends his men to find a concealed storage device in Nick's apartment with key information, after which they set fire to it. Nick shows the judge video footage of Fitch's men breaking into his apartment, and the judge orders the jury sequestered.

Rohr's key witness, a former Vicksburg employee, doesn't show up. After confronting Fitch, Rohr decides that he cannot win the case. He asks his firm's partners for $10 million to pay Marlee. Fitch sends an operative, Janovich, to kidnap Marlee, but she fights him off and raises the price to $15 million. On principle, Rohr changes his mind and refuses to pay. After the CEO of Vicksburg Firearms loses his temper under cross-examination as a witness and makes a bad impression on the jury, Fitch agrees to pay Marlee to be certain of the verdict.

Fitch's subordinate Doyle, who is investigating Nick, finds that Nick is, in fact, Jeff Kerr, a law school drop-out. He then travels to Gardner, Indiana, where Jeff and his law school girlfriend Gabby (i.e., Marlee) both come from. Doyle gently quizzes Gabby's mother, who reveals that Gabby's sister died in a shooting years ago when she was in high school. At the time, the town of Gardner sued the manufacturer of the guns used and lost; Fitch had helped the defense win the case. Doyle concludes that Nick and Marlee's offer is a set-up, and he calls Fitch, but it is too late as the money has already been paid.

After Nick receives confirmation of the payment, he asks the other jurors to review the facts, saying they owe it to Celeste Wood to deliberate. This causes Herrera to launch into a rant against the plaintiff, which undermines any support he had from the other jurors. The gun manufacturer is found liable, with the jury awarding $110 million in general damages to Celeste Wood.

After the trial, Nick and Marlee confront Fitch with a receipt for the $15 million bribe, which they will make public unless he retires. Fitch asks Nick how he got the jury to vote for the plaintiff; Nick replies that he didn't, explaining that he stopped Fitch from stealing the trial merely by getting the jury to vote with their hearts. Nick and Marlee inform an indignant Fitch that the $15 million "fee" will benefit the shooting victims in Gardner.

Cast

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In addition, Dylan McDermott has an uncredited cameo as Jacob Wood, whose murder sets the plot in motion. Luis Guzmán also appeared uncredited as Jerry Hernandez, one of jurors of the case.

Production

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The rights to make an adaptation of John Grisham's 1996 novel The Runaway Jury,[2] were purchased in August 1996 by Arnon Milchan and distribution partner Warner Bros. for a record $8 million, including first-look rights to Grisham's next novel.[3] Joel Schumacher had been attached to direct with Edward Norton, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sean Connery to star. However, Schumacher dropped out in July 1997, with the cast members following suit.[4] Philip Kaufman entered talks to direct shortly after, though was never formally attached.[5] Alfonso Cuarón signed on to direct in September 1999. Due to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement and the similar premise of the film The Insider, Cuarón and Grisham worked with the studio to make the plaintiff sue a gun company rather than a tobacco company as originally intended.[6][7] In 2001, Mike Newell was considered to direct with Will Smith to star, but a deal was unable to be met.[8][9]

In March 2002, Gary Fleder was brought on to direct and produce. One month later, John Cusack was cast in the lead.[10] Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman joined in May. While Naomi Watts had been considered for the female lead, she did not commit and Rachel Weisz signed on in June. Production began on September 16, 2002, in New Orleans.[11][12]

Reception

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Box office

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Runaway Jury grossed $49.4 million domestically (United States and Canada) and $30.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $80.2 million, against a budget of $60 million.[13] It opened at No. 3, in its first of four consecutive weeks in the Top 10 at the domestic box office.[14]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 161 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "An implausible but entertaining legal thriller."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[17]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, and stated that the plot to sell the jury to the highest-bidding party was the most ingenious device in the story, because it avoided pitting the "evil" and the "good" protagonists directly against each other in a stereotypical manner, but it plunged both of them into a moral abyss.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Howie, Guy (March 2025). "Gene Hackman's Last Crime Thriller With 73% On Rotten Tomatoes Is Now Streaming On Netflix". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (October 17, 2003). "Film Review; Courtroom Confrontation With Lots of Star Power". Movies. The New York Times. p. E25. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  3. ^ Carver, Benedict (August 30, 1996). "Holding Court". Screen International. p. 16.
  4. ^ "Schumacher, Connery off Grisham's 'Jury'". Variety. July 23, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  5. ^ Karon, Paul (February 5, 1998). "Kaufman eyes Warners' 'Jury'". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Petrikin, Chris (September 2, 1999). "Cuaron takes aim on 'Jury' premise". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  7. ^ "The Runaway Jury". Entertainment Weekly. August 14, 2003. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Lyons, Charles (November 28, 2001). "Newell mulls 'Jury,' 'Mona'". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  9. ^ Fleming, Michael (December 18, 2001). "Inside Move: 'Runaway Jury' loses case". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  10. ^ Bing, Jonathan (April 14, 2002). "Stars sit on 'Jury'". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  11. ^ Fleming, Michael (May 12, 2002). "Hackman, Hoffman in 'Jury' pool". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  12. ^ Fleming, Michael (June 18, 2002). "Grisham's 'Jury' finally on docket". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  13. ^ "Runaway Jury". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 27, 2025.Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ "Runaway Jury | Domestic Weekly". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  15. ^ "Runaway Jury". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 27, 2025. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "Runaway Jury". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  17. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Runaway Jury" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  18. ^ Ebert, Roger (October 17, 2003). "Runaway Jury". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 27, 2025 – via RogerEbert.com.
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