Synopsis:

Jury duty, most Americans dread it like the plague. There's the lost time, low pay and all that aggravation. However, in Trial By Jury, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer plays an extremely civic-minded citizen anxiously looking forward to spending her time in a jury pool. When she gets picked for a high profile Mob murder case she's sure she made the right decision to serve! She could not have been more wrong. Armand Assante plays a mob boss clearly cast in the image of Gambino Crime boss, John Gotti! Just a side note, Assante played Gotti in an HBO miniseries event entitled "Gotti" but that's beside the point. Anyway, Assante's character is unwilling to lose this or any case & will do anything to keep from going to prison. This definitely includes jury tampering. After examining all the jurors, he comes up with one juror (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) with a chink in her armor, a son. With all the testimony that's been given thus far, it doesn't look good for Perrone. So he enlists the aid of John Hurt-playing against type as a retired-cop-on-the-take, to scare her into voting Perrone's way. But, you can only scare someone so much before, their fear turns to anger & that anger turns to determination & that's exactly what happens. In much the same vein as the film "The Juror" Trial by Jury is not a juror recruiting film by any stretch but, it is something of a legal thriller that's worth at least a look-see.

Audio

The audio for the film regarding surround effects & LFE are pretty non-existent. This is a dialogue driven feature that relies more on the dialogue track than any surround feature. There are a few instances when the surround effect is used, namely in the opening of the animated menus & a couple of instances where there's a little gun play but overall, the Center is the most used. The rears & surrounds are used mostly in the courtroom when the reactions of the onlookers are elicited by remarks from the witnesses for the prosecution. These instances are few and far between and none of them last very long.

Video

The video as presented is a rather soft looking widescreen transfer. Its images are akin to a 1st generation videotape rather than the crystalline clarity I'm used to seeing in DVD titles. Additionally, there are a fair amount of transfer errors. The colors are bland & there is a degree of bleeding, primarily when the color of red is employed (Nightgown sequence with Kilmer & Assante Chapter 6). Further, there is a degree of pixelation throughout the entirety of the film in varying scenes. Assante's tie in the opening scene in court can be something of a test pattern so watch out. A watchable transfer yes, but with far too many errors.

Extras:

The extras for Trial by jury are a trailer for the feature as well as trailers for two more Morgan Creek films. The menus are nicely animated however, the music chosen to play over them was poorly matched with the events of the film. Primarily, the music consists of a badly orchestrated abysmal jazz piece that really doesn't fit with the tone of the movie. A dramatic score might have been the better choice as opposed to the light pseudo-jazz piece that has been employed.

Overall:

I saw this on HBO some years ago & thought I really enjoyed it. However, while watching the film this time there were some glaring problems with the acting & the storyline that wouldn't leave me alone! The acting is horrible! Everybody, except Assante & Hurt are overacting to the point of incredulity. Gabriel Byrne, great actor but, really way over the top in this one. Kilmer, Really didn't play her part very well at all. Once Perrone contacted her character & she began to "work" for him in the jury room, her expressions of satisfaction & the smug smirking really didn't play off the grieving mother. She looked more like a wise guy than a tampered juror did! Assante was excellent & Hurt while not his usual character was great as well. It's worth a look but not one that will cause you to look too closely. For Assante's performance alone, I'd say check it out. Rent it