Class Action (film)

• Gene Hackman: Jedediah Tucker Ward
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio: Maggie Ward
• Colin Friels: Michael Grazier
• Joanna Merlin: Estelle Ward
• Laurence Fishburne: Nick Holbrook
• Donald Moffat: Fred Quinn
• January Rubes: Alexander Pavel
• Matt Clark: Judge R. Symes
• Fred Dalton Thompson: Dr. George Getchell
• Jonathan Silverman: Brian
• Joan McMurtrey: Ann
• Anne Ramsay: Deborah
• David Byron: Carl
• Tim Hopper: Howard Crayhill
• Robert David Hall: Steven Kellen

The law of power ( Class Action ) is an American film drama directed by Michael Apted from the year 1991.

Action

Jedediah Tucker Ward and his daughter Maggie Ward are both lawyers. Jedediah often represents ordinary citizens in lawsuits against large corporations while Maggie - that drives the anger of her father - has been working for the company.

Jedediah is filing a class action lawsuit against the automaker Argo, whose products are designed to have a dangerous design flaw. Maggie represents the company and occurs in court against her father. In the course of the story dies Estelle Ward, wife and mother of the main characters, in the courthouse. Maggie throws her father before after the funeral, to have cheated on her mother several times.

Maggie learns that the retired employees of Argo Alexander Pavel once warned of the dangerous design of the electrical system of the vehicles. For cost reasons, the system was changed later. One of the counterparts of Maggie then advised the company and gave the advice to accept the risk of potential lawsuits. The same colleague destroys the only copy of the report, causing ethical concerns with Maggie.

Jedediah calls Pavel as his witnesses, represented by Maggie in court as unreliable because he can not even remember his own phone number, date of birth, zip code, what Maggie suggests he could not exactly to his former project remember. Then the colleague of Maggie from the firm says under oath, the said report had never existed. Jedediah then calls the chief accountant of the company, it is called Maggie as potential witnesses. The man confirmed that the report once existed. At the end of Jedediah wins 100 million U.S. dollars in damages to those affected.

Reviews

Joe Brown wrote in the Washington Post of 15 March 1991, the screenplay was " smarter than average" and build the tension " expert " on. Gene Hackman was in the " top form ".

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun - Times of 15 March 1991, most of the trailer would offer more promise than the movie. This case is an exception - his trailer interpret a formulaic plot with clichés during the film "surprising intelligence" and " empathy " show. Both main characters are in law, both have weaknesses - the movie show the path of forgiveness and self- changing. Gene Hackman in the movie was " wonderful," but Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is the true heart of the action. Ebert also praised the supporting cast Joanna Merlin, Donald Moffat Jan Rubes and Colin Friels.

The magazine wrote Cinema, the film was a " superficial drama", the " good leading man " would give profile. The portrayal of Laurence Fishburne in a supporting role was praised as " brilliant ".

Awards

Michael Apted was nominated in 1991 for the Golden St. George of Moscow International Film Festival.

Background

The film was shot in San Francisco, Oakland ( California ) and in the Tech Mart Building in Santa Clara ( California). He played in the cinemas of the United States an approximately 24.3 million U.S. dollars.

A film plot the comparable cost consideration, had made ​​for his model Pinto, whose tank was virtually unprotected in the rear against rear-end collisions Ford.