Trial by Jury (film)
Trial by Jury is a 1994 American thriller film directed by Heywood Gould and starring Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Gabriel Byrne, Armand Assante and William Hurt.
| Trial by Jury | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Heywood Gould |
| Produced by | James G. Robinson Chris Meledandri Mark Gordon |
| Written by | Jordan Katz Heywood Gould |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Terence Blanchard |
| Cinematography | Frederick Elmes |
| Edited by | Joel Goodman |
Production company | Morgan Creek Productions Chris Meledandri Productions |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $6,971,777 |
Plot
Crime boss Rusty Pirone (Armand Assante) is about to stand trial again and Daniel Graham (Gabriel Byrne) of the district attorney's office is determined this time to put him behind bars.
Pirone sends one of his henchmen, a burned-out ex-cop named Tommy Vesey (William Hurt), to threaten Valerie Alston (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer), a juror. Unless she cooperates by finding Pirone innocent and deadlocking the jury, Vesey intends to do harm to Valerie's young son.
Eleven jurors vote guilty. Valerie incurs the wrath of the others, who feel Pirone's guilt is obvious. One by one, though, she begins to persuade others to vote her way.
Pirone goes free. Graham is furious and, when he discovers Valerie's role in the verdict, he begins to pressure her. Valerie is adamant that she has done nothing wrong and feels that she has protected her son, but Pirone won't leave it at that. He forces himself sexually on her and continues to make veiled threats against her life.
Vesey's conscience gets the better of him and he intervenes in an attempt by Pirone's jealous woman, Wanda, to have Valerie killed. Vesey dies in the act of saving Valerie's life.
With nowhere else to turn, Valerie decides to seduce Pirone at his home, then kill herself.
Cast
- Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Valerie Alston
- Armand Assante as Rusty Pirone
- Gabriel Byrne as Daniel Graham
- William Hurt as Tommy Vesey
- Kathleen Quinlan as Wanda
- Margaret Whitton as Jane Lyle, Juror
- Ed Lauter as John Boyle
- Richard Portnow as Leo Greco
- Lisa Arrindell Anderson as Eleanor Lyons
- Jack Gwaltney as Teddy Parnell
- Graham Jarvis as Mr. Duffy, Foreman
- William R. Moses as Paul Baker, Juror
- Joe Santos as Johnny Verona
- Beau Starr as Phillie
- Bryan Shilowich as Robbie, Valerie's Son
- Stuart Whitman as Emmett, Valerie's Father
- Kevin Ramsey as Edmund
- Fiona Gallagher as Camille, Juror
- Kay Hawtrey as Clara, Juror
- Ardon Bess as Albert, Juror
- Karina Arroyave as Mercedes, Juror
- Andrew Sabiston as Elliot, Juror
- Paul Soles as Mr. Kriegsberg, Juror
- Jovanni Sy as Louis, Juror
- Damon D'Oliveira as Rafael, Juror
- Andrew Miller as Krasny
- Richard Fitzpatrick as Balsam
- Robert Breuler as Judge Feld
- Ron Hale as Bailiff
- Jack Ellerton as Staring Drinker
- Gordon Welke as Hanson the Prisoner
Reception
Trial by Jury received negative reviews from critics, with a rating of 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Year-end lists
- Worst films (not ranked) – Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News[1]
- 8th worst – Dan Craft, The Pantagraph[2]
- Top 18 worst (alphabetically listed, not ranked) – Michael Mills, The Palm Beach Post[3]
References
- Simon, Jeff (January 1, 1995). "Movies: Once More, with Feeling". The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- Craft, Dan (December 30, 1994). "Success, Failure and a Lot of In-between; Movies '94". The Pantagraph. p. B1.
- Mills, Michael (December 30, 1994). "It's a Fact: 'Pulp Fiction' Year's Best". The Palm Beach Post (Final ed.). p. 7.
External links
- Trial by Jury on IMDb
- Trial by Jury at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Trial by Jury at the TCM Movie Database
- Trial by Jury at AllMovie
- Trial by Jury at TV Guide (1987 write-up was originally published in the 1995 edition of The Motion Picture Guide)
- Trial by Jury at Box Office Mojo
- Trial by Jury at Rotten Tomatoes