The Chamber (film)
Encyclopedia
The Chamber is a 1996 drama
/thriller film based on John Grisham
's novel of the same name
. The film was directed by James Foley
and stars Gene Hackman
and Chris O'Donnell
.
the old man's death sentence
for the murder
of two Jewish children 30 years before. Only 28 days before Cayhall is to be executed, Adam meets his grandfather for the first time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary
which has held him since his conviction in 1980. 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. He fights not only for his grandfather but also perhaps for himself. He has come to heal the wounds of his own father's suicide
, to mitigate the secret shame he has always felt for having this man as a 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.
was originally set to direct the film, but left the project to direct Ransom (1996). He stayed on as a producer on the film. Brad Pitt
was committed to playing Adam Hall, but left the project when Howard left to direct Ransom.
William Goldman
, who wrote the early drafts, described the project as a "total wipeout disaster" and never saw the finished movie.
at Parchman Penitentiary.
. Roger Ebert
gave the film two stars out of four, remarking: "In the early days of X-rated movies, they were always careful to include something of "redeeming social significance" to justify their erotic content. Watching The Chamber, I was reminded of that time. The attitudes about African Americans and Jews here represent the pornography of hate, and although the movie ends by punishing evil, I got the sinking feeling that, just as with the old sex films, by the time the ending came around, some members of the audience had already gotten what they bought their tickets for." James Berardinelli
also gave the film two stars out of four, saying: "Plot-wise, The Chamber is full of seeming irrelevancies. The movie should have been streamlined better; there's no need to try to include virtually every character from the book. ... The Chamber ... is mechanical and artificial, and tells you what to think."
Grisham called the film a "disaster" and a "train wreck from the beginning." He added, "It could not have been handled worse by those involved, including me. I made a fundamental error when I sold the film rights before I finished writing the book. It was a dreadful movie. Gene Hackman was the only good thing in it." Faye Dunaway's performance in The Chamber earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress (also for Dunston Checks In
).
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
/thriller film based on John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's novel of the same name
The Chamber (novel)
The Chamber is a legal thriller written by American author John Grisham.-Plot:The Chamber, set largely in and around the Mississippi State Penitentiary, is the story of Sam Cayhall, a former Klansman who has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death by gas chamber 20 years after his bombing...
. The film was directed by James Foley
James Foley
James Foley is an American film director and screenwriter. He was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, the son of a lawyer...
and stars Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
and Chris O'Donnell
Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
.
Plot
Having survived the hatred and bigotry that was his Klansman grandfather Sam Cayhall's (Hackman) only legacy, young attorney Adam Hall (O'Donnell) seeks to appealAppeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
the old man's death sentence
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of two Jewish children 30 years before. Only 28 days before Cayhall is to be executed, Adam meets his grandfather for the first time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
which has held him since his conviction in 1980. 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
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
bomber.
While the old man's life lies in the balance, Adam's motivation in fighting this battle becomes clear as the story unfolds. He fights not only for his grandfather but also perhaps for himself. He has come to heal the wounds of his own father's suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, to mitigate the secret shame he has always felt for having this man as a grandfather and to bring closure
Closure
Closure may refer to:* Closure used to seal a bottle, jug, jar, can, or other container** Closure , a stopper* Closure , the process by which an organization ceases operations...
, one way or another, to the suffering the old man seems to have brought to everyone he has ever known.
Cast
- Chris O'DonnellChris O'DonnellChristopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
- Adam Hall - Gene HackmanGene HackmanEugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
- Sam Cayhall - Faye DunawayFaye DunawayFaye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
- Lee Cayhall Bowen - Robert ProskyRobert ProskyRobert Prosky was an American stage, film, and television actor.-Life and career:Prosky, a Polish American, was born Robert Joseph Porzuczek in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Helen and Joseph Porzuczek. His father was a grocer and butcher...
- E. Garner Goodman - Raymond J. BarryRaymond J. BarryRaymond John Barry is an American film, television and stage actor.-Personal life:Raymond John Barry was born in Hempstead, New York . His father, Raymond Barry, worked in sales. His mother, Barbara Barry , was also an actor, known professionally as B. Constance Barry...
- Rollie Wedge/Donnie Cayhall - Bo JacksonBo JacksonVincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985....
- Sgt. Clyde Packer - Lela RochonLela RochonLela Rochon is an American actress who is best known for her role as Robin Stokes in the movie Waiting to Exhale....
- Nora Stark - David Marshall GrantDavid Marshall GrantDavid Marshall Grant is an American actor and playwright.-Life and career:Grant was born in Westport, Connecticut, to physician parents...
- Gov. David McAllister - Nicholas PryorNicholas PryorNicholas Pryor is an American film and television actor.Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dorothy and J. Stanley Probst, a pharmaceutical manufacturer....
- Judge Flynn F. Slattery - Harve PresnellHarve PresnellHarve Presnell was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid 1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States...
- Atty. Gen. Roxburgh
Production history
Ron HowardRon Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
was originally set to direct the film, but left the project to direct Ransom (1996). He stayed on as a producer on the film. Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
was committed to playing Adam Hall, but left the project when Howard left to direct Ransom.
William Goldman
William Goldman
William Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
, who wrote the early drafts, described the project as a "total wipeout disaster" and never saw the finished movie.
Filming locations
Scenes were filmed in the actual gas chamberGas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
at Parchman Penitentiary.
Reception
Critical reaction to The Chamber has been negative, with the film earning a rating of 17% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film two stars out of four, remarking: "In the early days of X-rated movies, they were always careful to include something of "redeeming social significance" to justify their erotic content. Watching The Chamber, I was reminded of that time. The attitudes about African Americans and Jews here represent the pornography of hate, and although the movie ends by punishing evil, I got the sinking feeling that, just as with the old sex films, by the time the ending came around, some members of the audience had already gotten what they bought their tickets for." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
also gave the film two stars out of four, saying: "Plot-wise, The Chamber is full of seeming irrelevancies. The movie should have been streamlined better; there's no need to try to include virtually every character from the book. ... The Chamber ... is mechanical and artificial, and tells you what to think."
Grisham called the film a "disaster" and a "train wreck from the beginning." He added, "It could not have been handled worse by those involved, including me. I made a fundamental error when I sold the film rights before I finished writing the book. It was a dreadful movie. Gene Hackman was the only good thing in it." Faye Dunaway's performance in The Chamber earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress (also for Dunston Checks In
Dunston Checks In
Dunston Checks In is a 1996 film starring Jason Alexander, Eric Lloyd, Faye Dunaway, Rupert Everett, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and introducing Sam the Orangutan as Dunston...
).