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The Juror
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Wikipedia article
'The Juror' is a 1996 American legal thriller film based on the 1995 novel by George Dawes Green. It was directed by Brian Gibson and stars Demi Moore as a single mother picked for jury duty for a mafia trial and Alec Baldwin as a mobster sent to intimidate her. The film received highly negative reviews and Moore won a joint Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for both her performance in this film and in 'Striptease'.
Plot
Annie Laird (Demi Moore) is a sculptor who lives in New York with her son Oliver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt); she works a day job as a data entry clerk. Annie is selected to be a juror in the trial of mafia boss Louie Boffano (Tony Lo Bianco), who is accused of ordering the murder of Salvatore Riggio.
Mark Cordell (Alec Baldwin) buys some of Annie's artwork and then wines and dines her before she discovers he is better known as "The Teacher", Boffano's enforcer and the actual perpetrator of Riggio's murder. Mark tells Annie to persuade the jury to acquit Boffano, or she and Oliver will die.
A frightened Annie convinces the jury to acquit Boffano. After the trial, Boffano questions whether Annie should "disappear", seeing her as a loose end. Mark convinces Boffano otherwise. Mark goes after Annie's friend Juliet (Anne Heche). After having sex with her, Mark reveals himself to be Annie's stalker. He pulls a gun and forces Juliet to take a fatal drug overdose. Mark boasts of Juliet's murder to Eddie (James Gandolfini), who also works for Boffano but unlike Mark, is sympathetic to Annie as he is a parent himself.
To ensure her son's safety, Annie hides Oliver in the village of T'ui Cuch, Guatemala. The prosecutor, who figured out Annie was threatened, wants Annie to turn state's witness so they can go after Mark, who now plans to take over Boffano's empire.
Annie convinces the prosecutor to let her wear a wire in a scheduled meeting with Mark. Annie removes the wire and gives it to Eddie, insinuating she and Mark are now a couple. Annie then succeeds in getting Mark to incriminate himself in a boastful rant about his ambitions, which she tapes on a hidden tape recorder. She uses the tape to tip off Boffano, who schedules a meeting with Mark.
Boffano's plan backfires when Mark kills both Boffano and his son Joseph (Michael Rispoli), along with their henchmen. He also slashes Eddie's throat. Mark, furious at Annie's betrayal, calls her, revealing his intention to travel to Guatemala to kill Oliver.
Annie travels to Guatemala where there is a showdown with Mark. He chases Oliver into a structure, where locals shoot Mark. Annie, also armed with a pistol, fires six more shots, making sure Mark is dead after he tries to shoot Annie with a gun pulled from his ankle holster. Oliver is unharmed.
Cast
* Demi Moore as Annie Laird
* Alec Baldwin as Vincent "The Teacher" / Mark Cordell
* James Gandolfini as Eddie
* Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Oliver Laird
* Lindsay Crouse as US Attorney Tallow
* Anne Heche as Juliet
* Tony Lo Bianco as Louie Boffano
* Michael Rispoli as Joseph Boffano
* Matthew Cowles as Rodney
* Matt Craven as Boone
* Frank Adonis as DeCicco
* Michael Constantine as Judge Weitzel
* Polly Adams as Jury Forewoman
* Jack Gilpin as Accountant, Juror
* Chuck Cooper as Stockbroker, Juror
* Charle Landry as Musician, Juror
* Tom Signorelli as Locksmith, Juror
* Frances Foster as Housewife, Juror
* Robin Moseley as Matron, Juror
* Julie Halston as Inez
* Todd Susman as Boezman
* Rosemary De Angelis as Mrs. Riggio
* Joe Perrino as Tommy Riggio
* James McCauley as Carew
* William Hill as Walters
* Chuck Zito as Frankie
Production
Columbia Pictures acquired the movie rights to the unpublished book for $1.5 million. They then paid Ted Tally over $1 million to write the screenplay.
Reception
Critical response
'The Juror' was a critical failure. It holds a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Self-serious despite its abundance of trite twists, 'The Juror' is a drab thriller that audiences may hold in contempt." Moore won a joint Razzie Award for Worst Actress for both her performance in this film and in 'Striptease'. She was also nominated for the same joint award at the 1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards but lost to Whoopi Goldberg for 'Theodore Rex', 'Eddie', and 'Bogus'. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F.Box office
The film grossed $22.7 million in the United States and Canada and $60 million worldwide, against its $44 million budget.References
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