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Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman) is set to be executed for a bombing thirty years ago in Mississippi that killed two Jewish boys. His grandson Adam (Chris O'Donnell) has been avoiding the hateful legacy of his Klan grandfather. The young lawyer takes on the case. His investigation reveals that others were involved and he struggles to stop the execution.

Gene Hackman is a great racist but his character is irredeemable. Chris O'Donnell has his boyish looks but I don't sense the substance. Faye Dunaway is simply horrible in this one. The story is flat. The legal thriller is ultimately meaningless. Other than Hackman, this movie doesn't have much.

This is not one of the more famous (author) John Grisham based-movies and it's a bit talky for my normal tastes, but it was interesting. You can thank Chris O'Donnell and Gene Hackman for two excellent acting performances which helped make this so entertaining in spots.

O'Donnell plays young attorney "Adam Hall" (shades of Matt Damon's character in another 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 critics were right in that this could have been better but they were off base blasting this film. It's still an entertaining film, and they forget the value of that.

It is to bad that a powerfull performance by Gene Hackman was wasted in a poor paced, slow moving drama. The remaining cast gave a good account of themselves but the script just lack any sense of direction or suspense. Being a die hard Grisham fan I was terribly disappointed in the end product.

Idealistic attorney Chris O'Donnell (as Adam Hall) goes down to Mississippi, to take on the "death row clemency case of his onetime Klansman grandfather" Gene Hackman (as Sam Cayhall). "With just 28 days before the execution, Adam sets out to retrace the events leading to the crime for which Sam was convicted. As the impending death sentence looms closer, Adam works quickly to uncover the family's history for any hidden clues. In a white-knuckle series of twists and turns, Adam discovers deceptions and dark secrets that ultimately lead him to the startling truth," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

"White-knuckled"? Indeed not. "The Chamber" (as in gas chamber) starts off very well; and, Mr. Hackman's portrayal of the yellow-teethed racist is worth a look. Faye Dunaway (as Lee Cayhall Bowman) has a showy supporting role. All in all, the film's personnel portends a much better story than the one which appears on screen. Building up a romance between blue-eyed Mr. O'Donnell and brown-skinned Lela Rochon (as Nora Stark) seems like such an obvious way to improve the story (whether or not it was done in the John Grisham novel), you've got to wonder how on Earth they missed the obvious.

***** The Chamber (10/11/96) James Foley ~ Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway

I just finished watching this after I just finished hearing about it. I'll say it's not great, but its definitely worth the time to watch.

You have a very dramatic story of a murdering bigot's grandson (who's a lawyer) trying to save his grandfather (Gene Hackman) from his execution in 28 days. Just from their you know the plot is going to thicken.

When I saw this movie had Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway I said "great I love those actors". It's also got Chris O'Donnell, OK not a bad actor (but does he remind anyone else of Matthew Perry?), and it's even got Bo Jackson.

I was surprised by a few things. One was that, Bo Jackson, despite not having many lines, was quite good at acting. Another less pleasant was that, as much as I love her, Faye Dunaway did not do an overly impressive performance. Watch her in "Bonnie and Clyde" and then compare her to THIS role... you're not even on the same chart. Playing a rich Southern Bell is maybe more difficult for her, but she did have a few good scene's playing a drunk. One thing that didn't surprise me was Gene Hackman. Mr. Hackman is undoubtedly a great actor, is this movie he made no exception. He definitely needs to give thanks to his make up crew, but he certainly delivered the punches. The emotions he showed seemed so powerful, like he's really ready to join in a lynching. But he's also prepared, not ready, but prepared to forgive.

Really i think that the only problem with this movies was the scenes without Gene Hackman. The rest of the scenes made everything seem more like a "Made for TV movie". The chemistry between Adam Hall (Chris O'Donnell) and Nora Stark (Lela Rochon) was played off of more when they WEREN'T together. With better acting this could have been a much better film. But still it was not bad.

Kudos to John Grisham for the novel, It's a good idea, it wasn't played out as well as it could have... But still, it's still worth while watching.