THE STAR CHAMBER. Directed by Peter Hyams; written by Roderick Taylor and Peter Hyams; produced by Frank Yablans for 20th Century Fox. Starring Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook. Rated R.
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Charles Bronson and friends finally have someone to answer them, philosophically speaking. Vigilante movies in which an enraged victim takes over meting out justice where the courts have failed are usually pretty one-sided.
Star Chamber is about vigilantes, too, although a peculiarly exalted kind. It also presents the counter-argument that, sometimes, the legal technicalities often vilified for letting the guilty go free, can also protect the innocent.
And, after all, that's what they were designed to do.
The movie sets up Judge Hardin (Douglas)—and us—perfectly to come to such a conclusion. A series of particularly gruesome crimes are committed but Hardin is obliged to let the apparently guilty parties off on technicalities.
Embittered by his perceived role as a "friend" of criminals, he turns to a fellow judge (Holbrook) who invites him to join a secret group of colleagues.
They "re-try" certain cases, pass judgement and arrange for the execution of sentences. As Hardin presents a pair of alleged child murderers to the group, he learns that there are no stays of execution in this system of justice. That becomes a problem later as he comes to doubt the pair's guilt.
Star Chamber is suspenseful, well-acted and interesting. It has a good story and will make you think about some important ethical issues. But it is not a movie for the squeamish. Its R rating was given 90% for violence and subject matter and only 10% for language.
The violence, both on-screen and off, is not gratuitous, however. For most thoughtful moviegoers, the intellectual exercise and well- paced action of Star Chamber make it worth seeing.
August 17, 1983