ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610150023
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
The problem with movies based on John Grisham's novels is that they're based on novels by John Grisham. So they're rarely surprising - except when they are unbelievably farfetched. And we're putting that nicely.
Throwing a gazillion-dollar budget at a Grisham script is only likely to make matters worse: what ends up on the screen is very slick, farfetched and formulaic, the kind of movie that makes you sorry in the morning.
"The Chamber," the newest Grisham movie, has its failings, but they aren't the usual ones. The movie is a surprisingly sturdy, no-frills drama about a popular topic in moviemaking these days: the death penalty. But it offers a slightly different perspective on the familiar debate.
That perspective is created through the relationship between the death row inmate, convicted killer and Klansman Sam Cayhall and his grandson, Adam Hall, who - although he's never met his grandfather before - has decided to save him from execution.
Gene Hackman plays the old bigot who is to die for the deaths of twin boys, killed when Cayhall blew up their father's law office. The father was a Jewish lawyer who'd handled some civil rights cases. Cayhall calls the victims "casualties of war," although he insists he never meant them to be killed.
Adam (Chris O'Donnell; he really is a Tom Cruise stand-in these days), who works for a big Chicago law firm, has pushed his way onto his grandfather's case to satisfy what appears to be a healthy curiosity about his family. His father committed suicide on the day Cayhall was found guilty, so Adam has some psychological material worth sorting out.
What he finds as he digs more deeply into his grandfather's case is the usual assortment of Grisham goodies: bigger fish to fry (no pun intended), a corrupt system and many silent accomplices. He also gets to spend lots of time with his cuddly granddaddy, who likes to spout off about blacks and Jews. At least in the beginning.
As Adam tries to find some way to stay his grandfather's execution, he draws closer to some understanding about the forces that created the old man. But this movie doesn't begin to try to create empathy for the killer that "Dead Man Walking" did. It merely states all the facts and pushes in no general direction toward a moral. And that's a plus.
On the minus side is the fact that Adam's character - particularly his motivation for plunging himself into this no-win situation - is not fully developed. It's partly the fault of the script (by veteran William Goldman) and partly the fault of O'Donnell's performance; although he has no trouble conveying inner conflict, he's not good at drawing a bead on a single emotion.
That's where Hackman and Faye Dunaway, who plays Hackman's daughter, come in like the rescue squad. He is always a fine actor, but when it comes to conveying subtle, almost imperceptible shifts, he has few equals. Dunaway's portrait of an alcoholic, Southern belle - born "white trash" to a father who never did anyone any good - is remarkably fresh. The two have just one scene together, but it packs a wallop.
This movie, directed by James Foley ("Glengarry Glen Ross"), could have fallen down all around Hackman and Dunaway, and probably no one would have noticed. But it's actually a little better than the sum of their parts.
The Chamber ***
An Imagine Entertainment/Universal Pictures release playing at Tanglewood Mall and Salem Valley 8. 120 minutes. Rated (R) for graphic violence, 120 minutes.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Chris O'Donnell plays a young attorney who uses everyby CNBlegal strategy he knows to save the life of his grandfather, a
convicted murderer on death row in "The Chamber." color