Affaire non classée

Sometimes I'm left with the impression that viewers think all films should be award winning material, as though the goal and worth of a film can be judged by the amount of award nominations it generates and brings home. I disagree, a good film should entertain, and that is what this film does very well. Nice on location sets give the film an authentic and attractive feel. The acting is top notch. The two main overlapping stories, the father & daughter relationship and the legal battle, tie in very nicely. This is a solid film that draws the viewer in and keeps his/her attention until final scene. There are many ways to waste two hours, this film is not one of them.

Gene Hackman is Jedediah Tucker Ward.Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is his daughter Maggie Ward.They're both lawyers.His client is suing an auto company that risked his life.Maggie defends the auto company.Maggie and her father already fight against each other in real life.Now they fight in a courtroom.Class Action (1991) by Michael Apted is as much a courtroom drama as it is a movie about father daughter relationship.Gene Hackman is really great in the lead.This is a good movie but it's Hackman who makes it better.The man hasn't done any movies since Welcome to Mooseport (2004) and he did say to Larry King that his movie career may be over.I really hope that's not the case.Besides Hackman there are many other great talents.Mastrantonio as the daughter is very good.And so is Joanna Merlin as the mother Estelle.Laurence Fishburne is great as Nick Holbrook.Donald Moffat is Fred Quinn and he's terrific.Jan Rubes is fantastic as Alexander Pavel.Matt Clark is the Judge R. Symes and he's great as always.Jonathan Silverman does the role of Brian and he handles it very well.Fred Dalton Thompson is in the role of the immoral Dr. George Getchell.As we all know he's running now for the next President of United States as a republican candidate.Well he can act which is a quality very much needed when you're the head of state.Even though the plot may not be all that original it doesn't matter.The actors with Hackman in the lead make it worth watching at least once.A good court room drama in movies or on TV can be really intrigueing when done right.We've seen a good lawyer in Matlock, played by Andy Griffith and many others after that.The drama of Class Action really works.In and out of the courtroom.

Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastroantonio are involved in a "Class Action" in this 1991 film that also stars Laurence Fishburne, Donald Moffatt, Joanna Merlin and Fred Thompson.

Hackman and MEM, father and daughter, are both attorneys. "I raised you," Jed (Hackman) yells at Maggie (MEM) during one scene. "Mom raised me," she screams back. "You had a date."

Maggie's resentment over her father's infidelity erupts after the death of her mother (Merlin) in a powerful scene. Although Maggie has tried to reconcile with him, she finds there is too much in the way.

Maggie is in an ethical quandary when the law firm she works for wants to suppress evidence about an automobile manufacturer's malfeasance; complicating things is that her father heads the team the other side of the case.

This is a very good movie that emotionally rings true, thanks to a good script and fine performances by Hackman and Mary Elizabeth. I had the pleasure of working with Mary Elizabeth when she was a Broadway actress - a lovely woman with a great talent, shown here to excellent advantage.

Grieving for her mother and unable to accept her father's love, she is blindsided by her boyfriend/boss' ethics violation and has nowhere to turn. The viewer can really feel her pain.

Hackman is wonderful as a shark attorney who loved his wife deeply but made some unfortunate choices and alienated his only child. He finds himself now vulnerable and confused; Hackman expresses these emotions beautifully. There is able support from the top-notch cast.

Compelling and at times powerful.

This subdued courtroom drama starts out like an extended episode of L.A. LAW but quickly reveals itself as the unheralded gem it is. Gene Hackman is as solid as ever as a fervent lawyer battling an auto giant accused of manufacturing a faulty model. The twist is that his rival attorney just happens to be his self-reliant daughter, played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

CLASS ACTION is not a flashy, fill-up-the-screen-every-minute kind of film. But it is a quite compelling effort. The courtroom storyline is captivating, with director Michael Apted expertly showing the case and its various twists and turns from both sides. Anyone who was glued to the set anytime L.A. LAW came on be in heaven.

Then there's the family dynamic. Hackman and Mastrantonio are convincing as the father and daughter. He seems to know everything and she wants to prove that he does not. They begin the film miles apart in their relationship and it seems a tense court case will further drive in the wedge between them. It's a plot line that works well and helps elevate the film.

Though I shan't name specifics, back in the '90s, when Class Action was made, vehicle component malfunction affected and scared more everyday folk than the usual cases for U.S Courtroom dramas i.e Medical and Corporate cases.

So, when a lighting circuit component fails in a popular car model and causes vehicle fires, naturally a case is lodged against the manufacturers. Taking the case is a crusty, liberal lawyer, Jed, (Gene Hackman). But, to his shock and fortunately for us, in defence is Jed's estranged daughter Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who's ambitious and ruthless. This creates a tension, in the courtroom and privately as reasons and causes for their differences are aired.

Unlike some more well known courtroom dramas, there's little shouting or violence. No one gets murdered. The case is reasonably involving and both leads are good. The outcome wasn't as full-blooded as I'd have liked and so I give six and bit stars. Quietly recommended, though, especially for lovers of the genre.