Spoilers.
This is a wholly unremarkable, but also inoffensive, adaptation of a John Grisham novel that serves only to make me believe I haven't really missed a lot by never reading any of the good Mr. Grisham's work. The plot follows a familiar template for the legal thriller: the dynamic young lawyer taking on a lost cause (for whatever reason), the unsympathetic villain languishing on death row, the increasingly desperate legal measures taken by the lawyer to win the day, the behind-the-scenes political intrigues that assure as many obstacles as possible are put in the lawyer's way. Usually, the prisoner receives a last minute reprieve, but not in this case; here we join racist redneck Gene Hackman in his last few moments as he is strapped into the eponymous chamber and struggles to hold his breath while the poisonous gas swirls invisibly around him. Foam issues from his mouth as the gas takes effect, and you wonder why you had to see that. The only reason I can think of is because the film was made one year after Dead Man Walking.
Gene Hackman is as good as you'd expect him to be; he must be one – if not the – greatest actors of his generation, and he makes young Chris O'Donnell look wholly insipid. To be fair to O'Donnell, there isn't that much in his character to grab hold of – the only characteristic he has is the desire to see his grandpappy saved from the chamber. And when the poor lad isn't being acted off the screen by Hackman he has to contend with Faye Dunaway giving one of the better performances of her later career as Hackman's alcoholic daughter, who is haunted by the mistaken belief that she may have prevented a murder she witnessed as a child had she not chosen to remain silent at the fateful moment.
The Chamber isn't a classic by any measure, but it's probably better than its rating on this site might lead you to believe, although judging by some of the comments you might enjoy it more if you haven't read the book on which it is based.
This is a wholly unremarkable, but also inoffensive, adaptation of a John Grisham novel that serves only to make me believe I haven't really missed a lot by never reading any of the good Mr. Grisham's work. The plot follows a familiar template for the legal thriller: the dynamic young lawyer taking on a lost cause (for whatever reason), the unsympathetic villain languishing on death row, the increasingly desperate legal measures taken by the lawyer to win the day, the behind-the-scenes political intrigues that assure as many obstacles as possible are put in the lawyer's way. Usually, the prisoner receives a last minute reprieve, but not in this case; here we join racist redneck Gene Hackman in his last few moments as he is strapped into the eponymous chamber and struggles to hold his breath while the poisonous gas swirls invisibly around him. Foam issues from his mouth as the gas takes effect, and you wonder why you had to see that. The only reason I can think of is because the film was made one year after Dead Man Walking.
Gene Hackman is as good as you'd expect him to be; he must be one – if not the – greatest actors of his generation, and he makes young Chris O'Donnell look wholly insipid. To be fair to O'Donnell, there isn't that much in his character to grab hold of – the only characteristic he has is the desire to see his grandpappy saved from the chamber. And when the poor lad isn't being acted off the screen by Hackman he has to contend with Faye Dunaway giving one of the better performances of her later career as Hackman's alcoholic daughter, who is haunted by the mistaken belief that she may have prevented a murder she witnessed as a child had she not chosen to remain silent at the fateful moment.
The Chamber isn't a classic by any measure, but it's probably better than its rating on this site might lead you to believe, although judging by some of the comments you might enjoy it more if you haven't read the book on which it is based.