Class Action

Directed by Michael Apted, Class Action follows father/daughter lawyers Jed Ward (Gene Hackman) and Maggie Ward (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) as they go head-to-head in a lucrative, controversial case involving exploding cars. Filmmaker Apted, working from a script by Carolyn Shelby, Christopher Ames, and Samantha Shad, delivers a deliberately-paced and surprisingly uneventful drama that nevertheless benefits from its uniformly compelling performances, with Hackman and Mastrantonio turning in solid work that goes a long way towards elevating the lackadaisical proceedings on an continuing basis. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that Apted has populated the supporting cast with appealingly familiar faces like Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Silverman.) There’s little doubt, then, that Class Action‘s less-than-engrossing atmosphere is due predominantly to its emphasis on the personal, melodramatic problems of its two protagonists, and it’s clear, ultimately, that the decision to mostly relegate the aforementioned case to the sidelines perpetuates the picture’s decidedly hit-and-miss atmosphere. (The ongoing inclusion of palpably entertaining sequences, especially the courtroom climax that closes the picture, resuscitates one’s waning interest on a fairly regular basis.) It’s apparent, ultimately, that Class Action works best as a showcase for both Hackman and Mastrantonio’s exceedingly engaging efforts here, which is somewhat disappointing, certainly, given the potential inherent in the seemingly electrifying subject matter.

**1/2 out of ****