There is no doubt that the movie "Runaway Jury", known in English as "Runaway Jury", is a film about legal subjects, as can be seen from the name of the film. However, if you want to enjoy the wonderful court showdown between the prosecution and the defense from beginning to end in the film, you are probably a great disappointment. The key to the outcome of this lawsuit sparked by the shooting was a jury of twelve people. The protagonists of the film obviously know this, and in order to win the case, they try to control the jury through various means, thus staging a suspenseful "cat and mouse" drama outside the courtroom.
At the beginning of the film, before the jury loses control, the first thing that gets out of control is the gun. A securities company broker who had just spent his birthday with his son was killed by a sudden shooting. The proliferation of guns has long been one of the sources of crime in American society. Even today, school shootings happen from time to time, and it all feels like it's not hard to die at gunpoint in the United States. In stark contrast to the government's futile efforts in gun control are gun manufacturers who make a lot of money from the arms business. In Congress, they have their own spokesmen; in the courts, they play justice above the applause. For the sake of profit, do whatever it takes.
The big boss behind the scenes, played by actor Jean Hartman, is impressive. His professional status is special, known as jury screening consultant. His main job is to grasp the background and weaknesses of jury members through a comprehensive investigation, so as to control the jury and make it vote in favor of his employer. This blue gold even controls the lawyer's every word and deed in court through headphones. Of course, this is an artistic exaggeration. This "professional service" provided by Blue Gold was very popular with the defendant, the Wiggsburg firearms manufacturer. They paid a lot of money to hire lawyers from the Blue Gold team to represent the lawsuit, and also entrusted the Blue Gold team, hoping to manipulate the jury.
This is not the first time a jury has appeared in an American movie. As a feature of common law systems, the presence of juries has always been a symbol of the prevention of royal and judicial despotism. The film details the court's selection of jury members. These twelve people came from different industries, different genders, different social backgrounds, and had no relationship with each other, and the factual determination of the case was in their hands. Moreover, by law, a jury must pass unanimously to make a final decision.
Twelve people came together to fulfill their legal obligations. From strange to familiar to reaching a consensus on the facts of the case, it takes a certain amount of time. This process made it easier for Blue Gold and his team to identify the weaknesses of each jury member and thus control them. Some of the plots in the film also quietly criticize the imperfection of the jury system. According to the regulations, the court is responsible for the food, clothing, shelter and transportation of these twelve people in the course of the trial of the case, at least when they judge the facts. The reality, however, is that the jury members' lunches have not landed. Later, it was the judge of this court who paid for it himself and invited everyone to eat a big meal to solve the problem.
The scheming Blue Gold has two rivals. It's just that one of them is in the light and the other is in the dark. Lore, the plaintiff's attorney played by famed actor Dustin Hoffman, is a rival in a Blue Gold courtroom. Lawyer Lore believes in the impartiality of justice. Despite knowing that someone controlled the jury by means, he was ultimately unwilling to go against his heart and submit to the dirty rules of the game. Lore and Blue Gold's brilliant rivalry takes place in the courtroom. Blue Gold is proud that he is about to succeed, and Lore is not weak, the two are talking about each other, in fact, each other's values are fiercely opposed. Two experienced veteran actors work together, and they are roommates who learn to act together in real life. Blue Gold's arrogance, cunning, and arrogance were not worth mentioning in Lore's eyes. Lore was like a knight who had nothing but always believed in truth and justice. They are one positive and one is reversed, representing two lawyers with opposing positions. Strictly speaking, as a special legal profession, there is no such thing as "good" and "bad" for lawyers. Everything they do is in the interest of the client, not right or wrong, left to the court to decide. Raising the public's correct understanding of the legal profession is also an indispensable link in the process of building a country ruled by law and reshaping legal beliefs.
Another opponent of Blue Gold is the shadowy young Nick, played by actor John Cusack. Nick used Blue gold's suspicious personality to successfully blend into the jury. His purpose is unknown to outsiders. Inside the jury, he worked hard to open up the situation and constantly eliminate the negative impact that the blue gold team had on the jurors. Outside the courtroom, Nick's female companion Mary, played by Rachel Weiss, constantly signals to Blue Gold and Lore to control the people he wants to control if he pays. Nick and Mary seem to be very familiar with Blue Gold's methods, and they pose as if they want to make a lot of money, and unconsciously, they mess up the control plan that Blue Gold has laid out...
Nick and Mary, two mysterious young men and women, are like the contemporary "Robin Hood the Thief", using various means to achieve their goals. They and the powerful blue gold team fight outside the courtroom, fighting evil with evil and violence against violence. Probably because American society reveres individual hero masters, Nick and Mary appear to be supernatural and omnipotent in the film. The author thinks that the setting here is still too exaggerated. After all, Blue Gold relies on a technical team to do such a criminal job as controlling the jury. And Nick and Mary can only rely on two people, and they can form a situation with the Blue Gold team competing for a jury, which is obviously not very realistic. The film is too much to show that these two parties affect the judicial trial through illegal means, making people feel that the judicial process in the United States, what trial confrontation model, jury system... It became a decoration of living life, and was toyed with by people between applause.
But then again. This film is not a legal film in the pure sense of the word. The plot setting of several confrontations enhances the degree to which the film attracts the audience. Due to the presence of the Blue Gold team, Nick and Mary, the entire jury is in fact in an abnormal state. At this point, the audience will feel that justice can be controlled, and the seemingly impartial court trial is just a pre-written script, and the real good drama is staged outside the courtroom in an extremely ugly posture!
The mysterious identities of Nick and Mary are revealed at the end of the film. It turned out that many years ago, Mary's sibling sister died in a school shooting. Nick was her sister's boyfriend at the time. The gun used by the killer also came from the Wigsburg Firearms Manufacturing Company. It was because of Blue Gold and his team that the lawsuit against The Wiggsburg Company in their town failed, and even the town government was on the verge of bankruptcy... therefrom. Viewers can understand the actions of Mary and Nick, who upset the jury and defeated Blue Gold's plan to avenge the deaths of loved ones and gun victims. In the end, the twelve members of the jury, freed from control, unanimously made the decision of the gun manufacturing company to assume responsibility in accordance with their conscience. The court handed down a verdict in which the company compensated the family of the deceased for more than $100 million.
A fierce battle has finally settled. The court's verdict met people's demands for fairness and justice, and Blue Gold received the punishment he deserved — being stripped of his lawyer's license. Putting aside the happy ending, this film is even more thought-provoking: the law is the law, it cannot be kidnapped by any force. The sacred solemnity of the court lies not in the form, but in the faith in the hearts of the people.