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List Price: $9.99 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 22256
Released: May 27, 1998 |
| Our Price: $3.58 |
| Used Price: $2.54 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
An idealistic young lawyer sets out to save his grandfather a former klansman awaiting the death sentence. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/26/2005 Starring: Chris Odonnell Faye Dunaway Run time: 113 minutes Rating: R
Description of The Chamber:
A top cast consisting of veteran aces Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway can't rescue this way-too-long, dreadfully earnest version of John Grisham's equally gimpy novel. There are several problems in this story of an intertwined Southern family who must disentangle themselves from the past and the dark shadow of a 1967 bombing. That terrorist attack led to the deaths of two Jewish children and was pinned on the black-sheep patriarch of the family, a racist, card-carrying Klansman named Sam Cayhall (Hackman), who is now serving time on death row for the hate crime. Years later, the savior grandson cometh. Young-buck lawyer Adam Hall--played with righteous determination and limited range by Chris O'Donnell--pulls out all the stops to save his client from the Mississippi gas chamber. As is usual in Grisham country, the poor lawyer becomes embroiled in a plan more diabolical, corrupt, and layered than he could guess and the truth spirals out of control, endangering lives, and opening old wounds. The Chamber attempts to twist and turn through its plodding story, but there is no gray area in which to force the viewer to weigh his or her conscience against the skewed facts. Everything that occurs in The Chamber is black or white, good or bad, and there is no crisis of conflict to make us question the morality and stance of the two sides in play. The bad guys are awful, the politicians are bought off, the cops are either corrupt or apathetic, and only one puny guy is left to bring down a house of cards that's been standing solidly for decades. O'Donnell is quickly put to shame by Hackman, who even manages to suffer through a sadistically long, melodramatic stroll down death row with his dignity intact. --Paula Nechak
The Chamber Reviews:
Tough Subject, Great Movie 
2009-12-15 - There are a few fairly recent movies about the death penalty--Dead Man Walking, The Green Mile, The Life of David Gaye. To me, this one gives us more insight into all the appeals etc that lead up to an execution. I was interested to find out that the actual gas chamber at Parchman, Mississippi, was used in the chamber scenes of the movie. It has an unusual plot, in that a Klan killing from the 1960's took this long to come to execution. Murder should never be considered a cultural phenomenon, but the book/movie point out that Klan killings, at this point in our history, were not unusual. This role was so different for Gene Hackman, The Runaway Jury. I've become a big fan of all of Grisham's books and movies. I also enjoy them because they are usually set in/around the Memphis area (since I lived in that area when I was in the Air Force 20 years ago).
Ignore the Critics
2009-06-07 - I am appalled at the New Yorker review of "The Chamber". How they could criticize Gene Hackman's performance in this film makes me wonder what their critic does call a good film. Hackman always has been, always will be one of the best, if not the best, actor of the 20th Century, Brando be damned. He is flawless in this film as he has been in anything he appears in. He makes any film better.
As for Chris O'Donnell - thank God they didn't have Tom Cruise in it. Now THERE is an actor who can ruin anything he's in. No matter what the role, he is always Tom Cruise. O'Donnell has the misfortune of looking like Cruise - thus the cheap shot from the New Yorker. His likeness to Cruise may end up being his downfall. In this film, O'Donnell gives an understated, subtle performance and it makes me want to see him in other films to see if he can shed the Cruise comparison.
As always, Dunaway is magnificent - daring to go beyond her beauty and takes her character on with a vengeance coupled with a sympathy that helps you understand and forgive the character's flaws.
I recommend this film highly - as it shows us in spades why the death penalty is a flawed response to crime - that it leaves more questions asked than answered. It is hard to watch, which only validates the importance of the film and makes its critics' comments less valid.
I wish I had not waited so long to see this film. If you haven't seen it and if you have a strong position on the death penalty, yea or nay, you will want to see this film....critics be damned.
Entertaining, Thanks To Hackman & O'Donnell
2009-05-21 - You can thank Chris O'Donnell and Gene Hackman for two excellent acting performances which helped make this so entertaining in spots, because it's a bit talky.
O'Donnell plays young attorney "Adam Hall" (shades of Matt Damon's character in another John Grisham movie, "The Rainmaker"). Meanwhile, it's no surprise that Hackman gives us another fascinating performance, this time as the attorney's brutally racist grandfather, "Sam Cayhall."
He's been imprisoned for a murder and O'Donnell is trying to release him from a death sentence. Hackman's performance elevates from a "fair" to a "good" movie. While O'Donnell is trying to do his job, a few revelations occur considering his Klansman grandpa. Faye Dunaway also is in here and has a memorable scene with "Sam."
Yes, the national critics were right in that this could have been better but they were off base blasting this film. It's still an entertaining movie, and that counts for plenty.
Not the best Grisham movie 
2008-04-28 - If I were to categorize all of the Grisham movies so far, it would go like this: 1. The Firm 2. The Pelican Brief 3. The Client 4. Runaway Jury (Hackman is better in this one) 5. A Time to Kill 6. The Rainmaker 7. A Painted House 8. The Chamber.
My favorites: The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, Runaway Jury, A Painted House.
Passable.
2006-11-08 - This film is really only good for two things.
1. Chris O'Donnell appears without his shirt on for one scene
2. Faye Dunaway plays a crazy drunk (ultimate camp!)
