Affaire non classée

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.

Jed Ward (Gene Hackman) is a lawyer who fights to protect people against corporations. His daughter Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) works for a big legal firm. A case comes up which pitches them against each other. To make matters worse she resents her father for cheating on his wife (her mother) in the past. When they start butting heads over the case all hell breaks loose.

Great legal drama with Hackman and Mastrantonio giving incredible performances in the leads. Either being politely legal to each other in the courtroom or tearing into each other in private they're great. I'm no lawyer but the film seems to follow legal procedures and rules pretty accurately (unlike some legal dramas that completely ignore most of the them). Even better it doesn't dumb down the dialogue and treat the audience like a bunch of idiots. It's well-written, thought-provoking and brings up some very good legal and ethical questions. Sometimes it's a little too slow and occasionally people seem to be giving speeches rather than talking but it still works all around. Also Colin Friels, Larry (Laurence) Fishburne, Donald Moffat and Jan Rubes give strong performances in supporting roles. This came and went pretty quickly in 1991 (probably because it had the most boring posters I've ever seen advertising it) but it's a good legal thriller that's worth catching. I give it an 8.

I still find it kind of a coincidence that this was aired here on the cable the day before Fathers' Day here. Father Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) and daughter Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are both lawyers and coincidentally, they are on the opposing ends of a major court case.

From the start, one can see that Maggie is very driven to be successful in the lawyers' circles given she told her boss she wanted to take on the case because she is very aware of the company the law firm she works for represents. And her colleagues then told her that her father is the plaintiff for the case. Now this drove the daughter to outwin her father in the courtroom even more.

All the estrangement actually went back to the time when Maggie realised her father is not faithful to her mother. So whenever they passed by each other, Maggie often never gave her father one look. After Mrs Ward's passing, father and daughter reunite each other for a while...but! The old issues all came back.

And when along the way in researching for the case, an obstacle appeared and it almost led Maggie into trouble. Jedediah thought his daughter is almost in trouble and they managed to clear out some things between each other. It even led to surprising events which happened on the day of the big court case.

For me who has always been interested how lawyers always go about their work, this is a nice introduction. Father-daughter relationship is also being explored here. That is why I said about the movie on cable the day before it's Fathers' Day today here.

Everything starts nice: the subtleties of the story line are introduced in an admirable low key fashion. And the 'expert' critics say this is a great new twist on a worn out theme, and maybe at the time this movie was released it was - but that was then and this is now and frankly the idea wears thin. There seem to be three writers attached to this project and one will of course conjecture what they were up to, for sections of this loose tale seem rather poorly written - and even poorly directed, and the director Michael Apted, who three years earlier made the excellent Gorillas in the Mist, will have to forgive.

The flaw seems to be thinking that the marriage of these two 'sub-plots' can work. And for a courtroom drama there is precious little courtroom time, and what is there jumps about a bit too much.

The cast are great; the acting is generally top drawer - except for a mother daughter scene near the beginning which simply unequivocally does not work and undermines the viewer's confidence in the movie - and I never before realised how beautiful MEM could be - but maybe anyone dressed in threads like that would look as good.

You'll enjoy it, you'll regard it as adequate entertainment, but if you're looking for excitement or a better overall premise, you'll be disappointed.

The idea, great. the actors, terrific. The plot, solid. the outcome, OK at best. Class Action has its moments, but spends way too much time developing the father-daughter relationship. Just as you get into the dirty dealings of the law firm, the director and editors give us more forced relationship. This is worth a look, but only if on TV.