CLASS ACTION

There is more to like than dislike here. This is a well-acted, well-written courtroom drama about a father and daughter whose political differences and family wounds place them on opposite sides of a highly charged class-action lawsuit.

The film takes justice seriously. It exposes a corporate decision to treat lawsuit payments as cheaper than fixing a dangerous safety flaw, while also showing how courtroom tactics can become ruthless. The family story gives the legal battle its emotional weight, especially as father and daughter confront the damage caused by his adultery and years of estrangement.

The cost is significant: 37 obscenities, 21 profanities, promiscuity, and brief sexual innuendo. Adults who can engage those concerns with discernment may find this provocative and worthwhile; families with children or young teens should choose something else.

Jed Ward is a liberal lawyer who champions ordinary people against powerful corporations. His daughter, Maggie, is a corporate attorney with a very different approach to the law—and a deeply strained relationship with her father.

When a class-action lawsuit arises over cars that explode on impact, Jed encourages Maggie to take the case, knowing they will oppose each other in court. As the case develops, family tensions and questions of professional integrity become impossible to keep separate.

Three stars means this is a solid, engaging film with meaningful flaws. The acting is strong, and the writing gives the father-daughter conflict genuine emotional force. The final courtroom scene is especially interesting and provocative, keeping you guessing about the outcome.

Courtroom dramas can be complicated and difficult to follow, but this one sustains interest. The film's dramatic tension is also heightened effectively by its music.

The main weakness is a promiscuous relationship between Maggie and her boss. The source review finds this unnecessary, since the music and the larger moral conflict already provide enough dramatic tension.

The film contrasts two legal cultures: Jed's defense of ordinary people against powerful corporations and Maggie's work within the corporate-law world. It also challenges the idea that legal skill or strategic success is the same as justice. The lawyers' saying that “lawyers never lie, they just tell the truth judiciously” exposes a troubling attempt to make moral compromise sound respectable.

The story is also refreshingly resistant to the idea that every family must be radically dysfunctional. Jed has seriously failed through adultery, but he remains committed to his wife. His marriage, his daughter's anger, and their eventual movement toward reconciliation give the courtroom conflict a deeply personal center.

The film's central hope is that fathers and children can be drawn back toward one another, even after serious wounds. Christians will recognize a reminder of the Holy Spirit's work as Counselor: “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6).

This is a thoughtful, well-acted courtroom drama with a strong family and justice story. Its frequent obscenity and profanity, along with promiscuity and sexual innuendo, make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, it is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a family-friendly alternative, see.