When lawyer Rick Magruder learns his one-night-stand lover's nut-case father Dixon is threatening her, he puts the weight of his law firm behind Mallory, has Dixon arrested and subpoenas her ex-husband Pete to testify against Dixon in court. Dixon is sent to an asylum, but escapes from there and the lives of many people are in danger.
If you like movies more than you do John Grisham, you can leave the story behind and listen to the filmmaking master class that Altman conducts on the screen.
Boxoffice Magazine
June 05, 2002
Little more than 120 minutes of nifty storm sounds.
An underrated atmospheric thriller from Robert Altman
Los Angeles Times
February 14, 2001
Altman had a fine time composing difficult shots, through screens, bushes and sheets of rain, and Chungwei's images, sometimes delicate, sometimes harsh, stick with you long after you've forgotten their context.
Unless one counts a few running gibes against lawyers that can easily be imagined coming from Grisham, Altman basically chooses to treat this hackneyed story straight.
San Francisco Chronicle
January 01, 2000
There's great pleasure in watching a movie in which the director has thought out everything beforehand.
The unlikely pairing of John Grisham and Robert Altman proves rewarding for both partners.
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
June 06, 2003
A pulp melodrama in denial.
Globe and Mail
April 25, 2003
Robert Altman the up-and- down director meets John Grisham the constant mediocrity. Just where, in our hypothetical picture, should we place that unlikely scene?
