I thought the movie was good, but felt all the leading characters (with the exception of Armand Assante as the mob boss) were badly miscast. One of the essential elements of the plot was the mob boss's obsession for the juror, because he had a thing for classy women who looked like movie stars from the 1940s. Although Joanne Whalley is an excellent actress and always a beautiful on-screen presence, I don't feel she fit the 1940s mold, and didn't seem to have much on-screen chemistry with Assante. Another actress such as Kim Basinger (in a pre-LA Confidential Veronica Lake type of performance) might have made that plot element more believable. William Hurt was also miscast as the crooked cop. After seeing Tom Berenger in "Breaking Point" he would have been a much better choice. Gabriel Byrne and Kathleen Quinlan's roles could have been played by Treat Williams and Kelly Preston. Other than the casting of the lead actors, I liked the look of the film (photography, set design, costumes, etc.) and enjoyed watching it. I thought it was a much better film than "The Juror" (with Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin) that had a similar theme and was released the same year.
Review of Trial by Jury
