The Juror

The Juror
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian Gibson
Produced by Irwin Winkler
Screenplay by Ted Tally
Based on The Juror
by George Dawes Green
Starring
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Jamie Anderson
Edited by Robert M. Reitano
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 2, 1996 (1996-02-02)
Running time
 118 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $44 million[1]
Box office $22,754,725

The Juror is a 1996 American thriller crime drama film based on the 1995 novel by George Dawes Green.[2] It was directed by Brian Gibson and stars Demi Moore as a single mother picked for jury duty for a mafia trial and Alec Baldwin as a mobster sent to intimidate her.

Plot

Annie Laird (Demi Moore) is a sculptor who lives in New York with her son Oliver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt); she works a day job as a data entry clerk. Annie is selected to be a juror in the trial of mob boss Louie Boffano (Tony Lo Bianco), who is accused of ordering the murder of Salvatore Riggio.

Mark Cordell (Alec Baldwin) buys some of Annie's artwork and then wines and dines her before she discovers he is better known as "The Teacher", Boffano's enforcer and the actual perpetrator of Riggio's murder. Mark tells Annie to persuade the jury to acquit Boffano, or she and Oliver will die.

A frightened Annie convinces the jury to acquit Boffano. After the trial, Boffano questions whether Annie should "disappear", seeing her as a loose end. Mark convinces Boffano otherwise. Mark goes after Annie's friend Juliet (Anne Heche). After having sex with her, Mark reveals himself to be Annie's stalker. He pulls a gun and forces Juliet to take a fatal drug overdose. Mark boasts of Juliet's murder to Eddie (James Gandolfini), who also works for Boffano but unlike Mark, is sympathetic to Annie as he is a parent himself.

To ensure her son's safety, Annie hides Oliver in the village of T'ui Cuch, Guatemala. The prosecutor, who figured out Annie was threatened, wants Annie to turn state's witness so they can go after Mark, who now plans to take over Boffano's empire.

Annie convinces the prosecutor to let her wear a wire in a scheduled meeting with Mark. Annie removes the wire and gives it to Eddie, insinuating she and Mark are now a couple. Annie then succeeds in getting Mark to incriminate himself in a boastful rant about his ambitions, which she tapes on a hidden tape recorder. She uses the tape to tip off Boffano, who schedules a meeting with Mark.

Boffano's plan backfires when Mark kills both Boffano and his son Joseph (Michael Rispoli), along with their henchmen. He also slashes Eddie's throat. Mark, furious at Annie's betrayal, calls her, revealing his intention to travel to Guatemala to kill Oliver.

Annie travels to Guatemala where there is a showdown with Mark. He chases Oliver into a structure, where locals shoot Mark. Annie, also armed with a pistol, fires six more shots, making sure Mark is dead after he tries to shoot Annie with a gun pulled from his ankle holster. Oliver is unharmed.

Cast

Reception

The Juror was a critical failure. It holds a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[3] Moore won a joint Razzie Award for Worst Actress for both her performance in this film and in Striptease.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Juror-The
  2. ↑ George Dawes Green (1995-01-01). The Juror. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9780446518857.
  3. ↑ The Juror at Rotten Tomatoes
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