The Chamber ★★ 1996 (R) Dull retelling of yet another John Grisham legal thriller fails to engross. White supremacist Sam Cahall (Hackman) is on Mississippi's death row for killing two Jewish boys in a 1967 bombing. Young Chicago lawyer Adam Hall (O'Donnell), looking to find out more about his family's odious past, volunteers to work on his grandfather's case and win a stay of execution. Sam's an unrepentent racist but there's some question about whether he was the only culprit. Hackman and Dunaway (as his alcoholic daughter) are their usual professional selves while the charming O'Donnell seems out of his depth. Co-screenwriter Robinson used the pen name Chris Reese. 113m/C VHS, DVD. Gene Hackman, Chris O'Donnell, Faye Dunaway, Lela Rochon, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, Bo Jackson, David Marshall Grant, Millie Perkins;
Director:
James Foley;
Writer:
Phil Alden Robinson, William Goldman;
Writer:
Ian Baker;
Cameo:
Carter Burwell.
