Just Cause (1995)

Just Cause is a film that relies on phony plot twists and steals openly from any other thriller that it can remember. If there was a drinking game requiring players to drink during every cinematic "homage," you'd be tanked after Just Cause's first 45 minutes. Take one case of racial injustice, place it in an exotic, exquisitely photographed location (the Florida Everglades), and bring in an outsider, played by a bankable star, to save the day. Make sure nothing appears as it seems. Add a couple of plot twists, some over-the-top character actors (Ed Harris, shamelessly riffing on Hannibal Lecter), stir, and serve. The big name in this case is Sean Connery, who plays a Harvard law professor summoned to the swamps by an apparently innocent death row inmate (Blair Underwood), who swears he didn't rape and kill that 11-year-old girl. He says he confessed because maverick psycho-cop Tanny Brown (Laurence Fishburne) made him play a solo game of Russian roulette. He says his Serial-killer neighbor on death row (Harris) committed the crime. Connery buys it, the audience buys it, and how could they not? Director Arne Glimcher (who made the lackluster Mambo Kings) coerces everyone with simplistic plot manipulations. Characters are given no depth, and the actors are pawns moved about like pieces on a Clue gameboard. --Dave McCoy Amazon.com

Just Cause Review

The movie starts off nicely but ends up to be ridiculous and unconvincing. The actors are basically wasted. The only good thing about this film is James Newton Howard's fine score. May 23, 2008

Another lost cause for Connery

Just Cause is one of those films that at first makes you wonder quite why it was so heavily slated when it came out - nothing special but competent enough and with an excellent supporting performance from Ed Harris. Then you hit the last third and everything starts to get increasingly silly until you've got a killer with a flashlight strapped to his forehead threatening to fillet Sean Connery's wife (a typically mannered and unconvincing Kate Capshaw) and kid (a very young Scarlet Johannsen) in an alligator skinner's shack. The kind of movie that's probably best seen on a plane, and even then only once. February 15, 2008

Just Cause Review

This is a great movie. There are suspense and drama and a couple of good twists. There are some excellent performances, as well. I won't say more, as I don't want to ruin the surprises. I've seen it before and wanted to own it. Now to review the purchase experience: When I first received the movie, the holder on the inside of the case, which holds the DVD in place was broken and had allowed the disk to move around in shipment and get scratched. I returned it, at Amazon's expense, and promptly received a new one. January 19, 2008

It begins with a formula for predictability, but then shifts into an unpredictable thriller

This movie has all the components of a formulaic tale about a black man unjustly arrested for the murder of a young white girl. A college educated black man in a small town in Florida is arrested when a young white girl is raped and brutally murdered. The local sheriff and his deputy beat him for 22 hours and extort a confession out of him. The only unusual difference is that while the deputy is white, the sheriff is black.
Sean Connery plays a Harvard Law professor who is adamantly opposed to the death penalty and he is introduced taking that position in a debate. The black man's grandmother has traveled up from Florida to plead with Connery to take her grandson's case before he is executed. After being shamed by his ex-prosecutor wife, Connery agrees to look into it. Once there, he finds several inconsistencies in the evidence, but time and again he encounters people who strongly and sometimes physically encourage him to let matters lie. The attorney who defended the black man openly admits to Connery that he lost business for defending the man and that he would have probably had to have left town if he had achieved an acquittal.
Connery persists and gets what he feels is a just verdict, which only begins the development of the true story, which takes many convoluted twists. These gyrations will keep your mind racing as you try to anticipate what will be the next movement.
As always, Sean Connery turns in an excellent performance. However, the stars of the movie are Lawrence Fishburne as the sheriff and Ed Harris as a deranged serial murder. Harris is spectacular as a man who is truly criminally insane, yet can when necessary be very rational and calculating. I enjoyed the movie, Connery avoided slipping into any dramatic hero persona; I thought he played the role a little too passively. However, that is just my experience is seeing him in the hero's role. In nearly every way he responded as a Harvard Law professor would.
October 14, 2007

A Compelling Thriller

On the back of the case of this movie, it says that it's the best thriller since Silence of The Lambs; while I don't agree with that statement, Just Cause was a great thriller.

The first thing we think when a young black man is hauled to the local precinct for interrogation is police brutality. After all, sheriff Tanny Brown, and police officer Wilcox, show no mercy in beating Bobby Earl, who is accused of killing a young white girl. We feel horrified by what the officers do to the prisoner.

Then, the scene changes. Evangeline, Bobby Earl's grandmother is sent north to ask a distinguished Harvard professor, a retired lawyer, the young man wants Paul Armstrong to defend him. She old woman is convincing enough for Armstrong to take a look at the case. He is also convinced of the young man's innocence.

Things are not exactly what we thought they were. When Blair Sullivan, a man who is serving time in the same facility as Bobby Earl, comes forward to tell about how he is connected to the young girl's murder, and changes the dynamics of the case. The way it plays in the movie, it serves to confuse the viewer and distract Armstrong from arriving at the truth.

This thriller is made enjoyable by Sean Connery, who plays Armstrong. Laurence Fishburne, an intense actor, makes a fine impression as the Sheriff who, as far as we can see, is guilty of abusing his prisoner. Ed Harris has a wonderful opportunity to show why he is one of our best actors. Blair Underwood, Kate Capshaw, Ruby Dee and the young Scarlett Johansson are seen in supporting roles.

The film, even with its faults, will not disappoint. May 28, 2006

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