Where to watch The Chamber
2 Stars
Having survived the hatred and bigotry that was his Klansman grandfather’s only legacy, young attorney Adam Hall seeks at the last minute to appeal the old man’s death sentence for the murder of two small Jewish boys 30 years before. Only four weeks before Sam Cayhall is to be executed, Adam meets his grandfather for the first time in the Mississippi prison which has held him since the crime. The meeting is predictably tense when the educated, young Mr. “Hall” confronts his venom-spewing elder, Mr. “Cayhall,” about the murders. The next day, headlines run proclaiming Adam the grandson who has come to the state to save his grandfather, the infamous Ku Klux Klan bomber. While the old man’s life lies in the balance, Adam’s motivation in fighting this battle becomes clear as the story unfolds. Not only does he fight for his grandfather, but perhaps for himself as well. He has come to heal the wounds of his own father’s suicide, to mitigate the secret shame he has always felt for the genetic fluke which made this man his grandfather, and to bring closure — one way or another — to the suffering the old man seems to have brought to everyone he has ever known. But, would mercy soften his grandfather’s heart?
During the nineties John Grisham’s novels were translated to the silver screen en masse. Each to varying degrees of quality and box-office profitability. Of the titles that populate the subgenre, The Chamber received the harshest treatment from critics and audiences alike. Sure, it lacks the movie star power of Cruise, Washington, Bullock, or Roberts, and its story is not as compelling as the Grisham adaptations that had come before, but The Chamber is a sturdy if unspectacular example of the typically respected courtroom drama.
Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Earl Kramer, a vile, baby-killing death row inmate, isn’t routinely cited amongst the actor’s iconic performances, but it’s a captivating one. In fact, he’s so believable that Chris O’Donnell is a lightweight by comparison and struggles to hold his own on-screen against the older man. The mismatch cripples the impact of The Chamber, which looks great but never fully achieves liftoff in the way other Grisham film adaptations, particularly A Time to Kill, have.
Directed by: James Foley
Written by: John Grisham, William Goldman, Phil Alden Robinson
Starring: Chris O’Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway