Justice (2011)
Certified: 16
Duration: 105 minutes
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jennifer Carpenter, January Jones, Guy Pearce, Harold Perrineau, Xander Berkeley, Cullen Moss, Marcus, Lyle Brown
KRS release
When a film goes through title changes, release date postponements and other such production hiccups, the general feeling is that a dud is on the way.
A view of the extents to which a wronged man is willing to go, to set things right- Johan Galea
Well… I was really surprised with Justice, formerly known as The Hungry Rabbit Jumps and also Seeking Justice, which turned out to be a gripping vigilante-styled thriller.
Nicolas Cage is cast as the all-round amiable teacher named Will Gerard whose life suddenly hits a brick wall. His wife Laura (January Jones) is raped and he feels helpless and out of control.
That is when a man enters his life. Cool, smartly dressed, skinhead Simon (Guy Pearce) offers him justice (or is it revenge?) over the rapist on the condition that he somehow returns the favour in future.
Will accepts and the rapist meets his end.
Simon later asks Will to survey a man that he claims is a paedophile. Will is very wary when Simon wants him to murder the suspect and Will ends up getting involved in the murder of a reporter for a local paper. Events soon spiral out of control.
Directed with cool efficiency by Roger Donaldson (The Next Three Days), this film that will appeal to the same crowd that took to Taken.
It presents the audience with a view of the extents to which a wronged man is willing to go, to set things right, when he knows that the law with all its constraints will not give him the justice he deserves.
For once Mr Cage underplays his hand, preferring to play low key as a man who is simply out of his depth and this works in the film’s favour. This serves to bring the audience to his side even when he takes decisions that are morally ambiguous.
It’s very easy to appreciate the way of his decisions and the paranoia that dominates his character.
January Jones from X-Men First Class and the Mad Men series is very much in control of her character and it shows.
She is hurt and brutalised but finds inner strength to actually become better, more mature.
As always Guy Pearce brings to screen a certain level of intensity that gives Justice a sharper edge.
The film is at times simplistic in its views and approach on justice and vigilantism. It circumvents some of its own plot holes and managed to keep me interested for the whole duration.
However, it takes a very interesting stance in opting to narrate what happened as a consequence of the crime rather than overly focusing on the crime itself.
The film opts also for the same visual style of the 70s Death Wish movies that had also tackled the same subject.
In its scope Justice succeeds in both entertaining while simultaneously posing some interesting moral conundrums to its audience.