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Critic's Corner
Rita Kempley - Style section,
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Sequester 'The Juror'
Moore portrays the guileless Annie, a single mother and artist who becomes a juror in a Mafia murder trial. The evidence against "the big SpaghettiO" is formidable; his only hope is to tamper with the jury. The godfather's chief operative, the Teacher (Baldwin), sees an easy mark in Annie, whom he controls by threatening to kill her son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) if she can't deliver an acquittal. The boy soon realizes what's up and urges his mother to go to the authorities. He says he's willing to risk his life if need be. But Annie, in tune with legions of her fellow Americans these days, doesn't trust the system. Like Sally Field's avenging mom in last month's "Eye for an Eye," she takes justice into her own hands. She sets out to neutralize her tormentor, and the SpaghettiOs, too.--Rita Kempley
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'The Juror': In Need of Sequestration
By Rita Kempley Demi Moore plays against type as the title character of "The Juror": She never once takes off her clothes. That and Alec Baldwin's stark-raving romp as a rogue Mafioso are all that distinguish this poky psychological thriller from the pack of damsel-cum-wacko dramas. Moore portrays the guileless Annie, a single mother and artist who becomes a juror in a Mafia murder trial. The evidence against "the big SpaghettiO" is formidable; his only hope is to tamper with the jury. The godfather's chief operative, the Teacher (Baldwin), sees an easy mark in Annie, whom he controls by threatening to kill her son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) if she can't deliver an acquittal. The boy soon realizes what's up and urges his mother to go to the authorities. He says he's willing to risk his life if need be. But Annie, in tune with legions of her fellow Americans these days, doesn't trust the system. Like Sally Field's avenging mom in last month's "Eye for an Eye," she takes justice into her own hands. She sets out to neutralize her tormentor, and the SpaghettiOs, too. While stalking Annie, the Teacher falls madly—and we do mean madly—in love with her. He's even decorated his walls—serial-killer style—with her picture. Annie decides to use his obsession to teach him a lesson, but by the time this Demi-bulb shows some moxie, it's way too late to redeem her character. Brian Gibson of "What's Love Got to Do With It" directs the screenplay by Ted Tally, of "The Silence of the Lambs." Tally, who adapted the yarn from George Dawes Green's novel, obviously takes to tales of psychopaths in love. But Baldwin's Teacher is no Hannibal Lecter, and his desire for Annie pales alongside Lecter's complex love for Clarice Starling. Would that the director had silenced these hams. The Juror is rated R for sex, violence, nudity, profanity and drug use.
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