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John Grisham's books are almost nearly always about lawyers and courtrooms, this plot is a little more diverse as it deals with a death row prisoner and Klu Klux Klan member Sam Cayhall, played by Gene Hackman. Cayhall has been found guilty of the bombing of the offices of a civil liberties lawyer, in which the lawyer's two young sons were killed. Completely unrepentant whilst in prison, Cayhall has never offered a defence or incriminated other members of the Klan in the bombing. Chris O'Donnel plays Adam Hall, who is Cayhall's grandson, a young attorney determined to defend Cayhall and save him from the gas chamber.
And that really is the problem with both the book and the film, the mixed motives. I guess courtroom dramas always play better when there is one distinct guilty party and one distinct good side. We, as the audience, can then root for the goodies and boo the baddies and everything is black and white.
In this film there are just several shades of grey. Cayhall is obviously a bigoted nasty piece of work, and yet he is also a frail old man, noticeably scared of his own impending doom. Hall knows and accepts the abominous crimes his grandfather has committed and yet still feels that his is a life worth saving. So should we feel compassion for Cayhall? Should we feel admiration for Hall? Or do we feel that justice has been served by the gassing of an old man.
All credit to the filmmakers then for throwing up as many questions as the book raises and not going for the easy option to make the story black and white.
Some fine performances abound in this what every your opinions about the story. Hackman shows all his years of experience and pulls off a tremendous show. O'Donnel is equally as good although perhaps a little more gravitas could have been brought to the role. Mention also to Faye Dunnaway and Cayhall's daughter, Adam's Aunt, who really shows who has suffered through Cayhall's acts, which is his own family.
Thanks
R WATSON
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