Despite being a long-time admirer of Sean Connery, it
took me until now to catch up with the legal thriller “Just Causeâ€, released in
1995. The film was directed by Arne Glimcher and is based upon the book of the
same title by John Katzenbach.Glimcher
had previously directed the well-received film “The Mambo Kings†in 1992.The screenplay was written by Jeb Stuart (“Die
Hardâ€, “The Fugitiveâ€) and Peter Stone (“Charadeâ€, “Arabesqueâ€, “The Taking of
Pelham One Two Threeâ€).Connery is
surrounded by a stellar cast, each of whom delivers a fine performance.
The primary character in the movie is Bobby Earl
Ferguson, played convincingly by Blair Underwood.Bobby Earl was convicted of abducting and murdering
a pre-teen girl in Florida, based largely upon a suspect confession we come to
learn was violently coerced by Detective Tanny Brown (in an outstanding
performance by Laurence Fishburne) and Detective J. T. Wilcox (Christopher
Murray).Sentenced to die several years
ago, time is running out for Bobby Earl as his execution date approaches.At the direction of Bobby Earl, his
grandmother Evangeline Brown (Ruby Dee) approaches Paul Armstrong (Sean
Connery), who is a Harvard law professor, at a debate in which Armstrong is arguing
against the death penalty. Evangeline
delivers a letter from Bobby Earl detailing the injustice of his conviction and
pleading for Professor Armstrong’s assistance to set aside his wrongful
conviction and save his life.After an
emotional plea by Evangeline, followed by a consultation with his
attorney-wife, Laurie Armstrong (Kate Capshaw), Armstrong agrees to take up
Bobby Earl’s cause and he heads off to Florida to investigate the case.
It is at this point the movie’s plot begins to undergo the
multiple twists and turns that are so frequent, the technique becomes a
distraction.It is almost as if there must
be an unforeseen plot twist every five minutes for the remainder of the film.First, Bobby Earl discloses that another
death row inmate on his cell block, a serial killer named Blair Sullivan (Ed
Harris), has confessed to the killing of the little girl.Professor Armstrong confronts Sullivan,
leading to the discovery of the knife used to kill the little girl.The prison warden (Daniel J. Travanti) then
lets Professor Armstrong review the letters written by Sullivan, only to
discover one to the little girl’s parents confessing to the murder.Based on this evidence, Professor Armstrong gains
Bobby Earl’s freedom.
Just when it seemed things were being neatly wrapped up,
the plot takes a hard left turn and the second storyline emerges concerning a
disturbing past personal connection between Laurie Armstrong and Bobby Earl,
who it turns out had once prosecuted him in a case of sexual assault against a
young girl. Due to a problem with the main witness, Bobby Earl was not
convicted but during his incarceration, we learn that he was subjected to a
terrible act of torture by prison guards. This plot revelation leads to another twist,
with Armstrong discovering that his wife and young daughter (Scarlett
Johansson) have been marked for death.Here the movie adopts a similar ending as in “Cape Fear†(pick either
the 1962 or the 1991 version) leading to the final deadly confrontation between
Armstrong and the real killer that had been forecast throughout the story.
“Just Cause†received mostly negative reviews.This may be partly due to a storyline so
convoluted by numerous plot twists, the movie cannot be fully appreciated in
the first viewing. Coming in at #2 for
the opening week box office at $10.6 million, and remaining at #2 its second
week bringing in $6.6 million, “Just Cause†was a moderate financial success
with a total box office of $36.8 million (roughly $62 million in today’s
dollars) against a budget of $27 million.With a cast that was a parade of well-known actors (Ned Beatty, Kevin
McCarthy, and Hope Lange in what was to be her final screen appearance), the
movie deserved a better fate, despite its flaws.It has aged well, and is a positive showcase of
Connery’s acting skills and strength as a leading man, even while in his
mid-60s and in the twilight of his career. The cinematography is impressive,
and the Warner Brothers DVD captures the images clearly, though,
disappointingly, there are no bonus extras.