Directed by: James Foley
Starring: Gene Hackman, Chris O' Donnell, Faye Dunaway, Lela Rochon, Bo Jackson, Raymond J. Barry, Robert Prosky, David Marshall Grant
The Chamber is based on a John Grisham novel and like many Grisham books made into movies, it shows us how the law is bent for nefarious and self-serving reasons. There is no Mr. Smith Goes to Washington sentiment in a Grisham work. It is cynicism writ large. The Chamber is not a bad film, but one with an inevitable ending which is the only logical conclusion it could have. Its protagonist is Chicago lawyer Adam Hall (O'Donnell), who agrees to represent his estranged grandfather Sam Cayhall (Hackman), a Klansman on death row for murdering three people in a bombing. The execution is set for thirty days from now and Hall will handle the appeal. Adam's father committed suicide as a result of being raised by such a hateful murderer and his aunt (Dunaway), deals daily with guilt, shame, and alcoholism stemming from an event in the past in which she witnessed Sam shoot and kill the father of her black friend over allegedly stolen money.
Sam and Adam's reunion is a not a joyful one. Sam continues to defiantly spew racial hatred as an irredeemable white supremacist, which doesn't help Adam's appeal motions much. Adam grasps at any straw he can find to spare his grandfather from the gas chamber, its effects described in chilling detail by Hackman. Adam hates racial bigotry and his family's sordid past, but it appears he crusades against the death penalty more. If he is willing to try and spare Sam, he argues, then anyone else short of Hitler should be spared such a fate.
The Chamber moves along predictable lines with the Hackman character. We understand his worldview will change the closer his execution day nears. The unrepentant Klansman will soften, apologize to other black inmates and the black death row guard (Jackson-the former running back in a quietly effective performance) for his vitriol, and growing to understand the havoc he wreaked on his family with his actions. Hackman, being the master-class actor he is, can handle the character swings and make them believable. O'Donnell is supposed to be the catalyst for Hackman's changes, but I think these are due more to the story than anything else.
Still, The Chamber manages to maintain a certain level of suspense long after you would think it wouldn't have any right to. While the Mississippi governor, (Grant) plays with Sam's upcoming execution as a political football, we also sense there may be an eleventh-hour miracle at play. One question The Chamber and even Sam asks is: Does he deserve such a miracle? Because Sam is played by Gene Hackman, maybe. If he were played by an actor with whom we have less goodwill, perhaps not.
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