MovieChat Forums > Runaway Jury (2003) Discussion > Pointless scene *SPOILERS* (obviously!)

Pointless scene SPOILERS (obviously!)

posted 15 years ago by badcommand
19 replies | jump to latest

I thought the penultimate scene, where Hackman is in the bar after he lost was pretty redundant. What did the scene offer us?

1) Hackman is p*ssed off after losing (well, we know that)
2) Cusack tells him he will never work in any cases again (again, having just lost a major trial, it does rather stand to reason that he has lost all credibility and is now unemployable)
3) Weisz says that the money they got will go back to the town that Hackman bankrupted (who cares what they do with the money! Anyway we already knew that the town had suffered a terrible gun-related crime and Hackman was part of the trial that bankrupted the town)

So, what did this scene achieve? It rather came across as one of the scenes that explains the plot for stupid audiences. Or did I miss something on a more subtle level?

For what it's worth, I actually enjoyed this movie. I just got annoyed with this scene because I did understand what happened in the rest of the movie.

[–] fubleduck 15 years ago

A member of the jury started out on the right foot, but another member told him it was b.s. during deliberations. That was all the movie showed, so it assumed that was all we had to hear. Ad hominumism defined the verdict.

[–] badcommand 15 years ago

Huh?

[–] Whut_sum_mo 15 years ago

I don't know about all that, but if the scene was real, and I was Nicholas Easter, I'd really want to rub Hackman's face in it also. So, there may be no point to this scene, but just a "We got you, So There! And here's what we're gonna do with all that money - you 'robbed' from our family and friends."

To me, this is the most fitting justice done back to Rankin Fitch and then really rubbing his nose in it after it's had time to sink in - The damage they did back to him.

I may be alone on this point, but That's what this scene does for me.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism - Steven Wright

[–] boxerrebellion 15 years ago

It tells you that Easter and his girl were not keeping the money for their own - that they were using it to help the community...

also, one major loss won't totally wreck the guy's career, however, a felony conviction would...

[–] wittmann73 15 years ago

it is to show the utter defeat of Fintch again and to rub it in.

[–] drjukebox 15 years ago

A scene made by a director who doesn't trust (or think highly) of his audience.

Also redundant (and not credible) is the scene where Hoffman & Hackman bump into each other in the rest room and start preaching.

[–] JaneDough42 15 years ago

I actually liked that rest room scene, and Hackman's parting words, like all lawyers is that - he just didn't give a $hit.

[–] brentnevers 10 years ago

My brother once served on a jury in Texas and it was a Murder1 case. He tells me that during a bathroom break, he walks into the men's room to take a leak, and there is the defendant coming out of the stall and washing his hands!!!!!

Incredible....but stuff like this happens. A lawyer for the plaintiff and someone observing in the audience does not seem so strange to me now...

PS...the guy in my brother's trial was convicted and is serving life. It was a bar room fight and he killed the other guy with a pool cue....

[–] midnightersnob 15 years ago

I really wouldn't consider this scene "pointless". I'm sure the director wanted to wrap everything up in a nice little package for everyone. Hackman's character was played the whole time. Also, without this scene the audience would assume that Hackmans's character would continue on and keep doing what he's doing. It's a sense of closure that the protagonist wins.

[–] grandmast-1 15 years ago

The main reason Nick and Marlee want to talk to Fitch is to show him the paper with info about the money transfer. N & M tell Fitch if he ever tries to work another jury case, a copy of the proof of his illegal behavior will be sent to the authorities, so Fitch is "Retired as of today". Apparently, the two young people are going to keep an eye on Fitch. Fitch would have kept working jury cases otherwise, although probably at a reduced rate because he was no longer undefeated.

[–] jacc1515 15 years ago

A better ending would have been for that gun executive Jangle? to hunt down and shoot Fitch.

It'd be very ironic.

Don't you think?

"17 days!? We're not going to last 17 HOURS!!" -Pvt. Hudson

[–] hondadriver1973 14 years ago

What a surprise ending that would have been if Fitch had been shot. Really interesting - could have made an alternate ending worth seeing.

[–] PotassiumMan 15 years ago

This scene was actually a blessing in disguise for people like me who fiercely disagreed with the movie's politics. I think this scene made Cusack and Weisz look like smug winners. You beat somebody in a legal battle like that, you don't follow them to a nearby restaurant and rub it in their face. After you win, you leave the courthouse, and you do not say a word to anyone.

Only a sanctimonious Hollywood movie like this would have such a ridiculous scene. But at least it made Cusack and Weisz look like as$wipes.

[–] salndean2003 15 years ago

Finally the truth, PotassiumMan. Very well stated, and oh so true. Talk about a typical Hollywood ending, this one had it. Overly smarmy, preachy, sanctimonious pap. But hey, it's Hollywood.

[–] jaron_pais 15 years ago

actually in the book, nick and marlee take the money and play the stock market and become very rich, and in the end they do exactly what they do in the movie, they show up at a restaurant where fitch is at, tell him they're giving him the money back, and they also explain "gabrielle's" reasons behind everything.

[–] JaneDough42 15 years ago

boxerrebellion & grandmast-1 explained it for you, so I guess you really did miss an important part.

[–] hondadriver1973 14 years ago

A few SPOILERS are here.

For what its worth, I say the scene where Fitch is confronted in the bar at the end is exceptionally intense as it explains what was really driving Nick and Marlee to win the case. I also think that the background music that starts in this scene at time index 1:59:49 is haunting and well done. Anyone who has ever lost something precious to them can identify with the music through time index 2:00:50. A lost career, a lost love, a lost sister to a gun crime...I say this scene really tied up the film very well - though I must say from the script standpoint, I don't like the fact that Nick and Marlee were also trying to take $10 million from Wendell's firm too - in my opinion, you don't take money from the people on your side...I suspect many agree with this point.

Of course, to me, the score is astounding for this film in general. The opening credits set an unusual mood and the bulk of the score is upbeat and exciting. I suppose no movie is perfect, but this one has a lot going for it.
Comments?

[–] anne0 14 years ago

I think their implied strategy was that if Wendell's firm kicked in $10mil, they knew that Fitch would top it. They called Wendell on his OFFICE phone, knowing it would be tapped. They were playing Fitch all along.

The bar scene was right after the verdict. With Gabrielle not being in touch with her mother, she and Nick would not have known about Fitch's henchman visiting Gardner and calling him, probably within the last hour. It was important that they let him know about the motivation for their work. They announced it to him, not expecting he would already know. Also they showed him the wire transfer document.

I assumed they would just keep the money, since they no longer had much contact with Gardner. This was a major plot exposition to explain that they would give the funds back to the town - it revealed their characters finally! The twists and turns throughout the story had really kept this a mystery. It also allowed you to understand there were reasons for their long absence from hometown & family.

[–] stumpleg 14 years ago

I think it was a good job of explaining what they were really after. For someone that is just watching it for the first time, they might think that those two are out for the money themselves. If the bar scene was not shown, many people may be under that assumption, but with it in there, we know that they are just trying to get some cash back for their town.