Truly seeking justice?

Roger Donaldson's Seeking Justice didn't receive a lot of attention- from the media or audiences- when it was released in theaters not too long ago, but it's worth a look at home via disc, download, or streaming (so many options these days). The film reminded me a lot of Mr. Donaldson's old thriller with Kevin Costner, No Way Out. Like that earlier film, there's lots of tension and action, but all laced with an uncomfortable (and involving) paranoia as both audience members and the center-stage characters constantly wonder who is in on the big conspiracy.

The story in Seeking Justice involves a vigilante group that offers, well... justice to the Nicholas Cage character and his wife after the wife (played by January Jones) is brutally attacked by some weirdo creep. Though it rubs him the wrong way, the husband eventually takes the deal, but soon finds out that there's no free lunch. You see, Cage is all too quickly asked to return the favor and help the vigilante group exact vengeance against some other thug who supposedly did something horrible, this time to a little kid. The "supposedly" is what complicates the film, demonstrating that vigilante justice maybe isn't the simple, satisfying thing many believe it is.

In the end, this was a solid, well-crafted thriller about a topic- taking the law into one's own hands- that is usually relegated to exploitation films and other "crowd pleaser" type movies (the Neil Jordan/Jodie Foster movie The Brave One is the only other modern, A-list movie that comes to mind that tackled the subject, and that did a decent job, too). Anyway, a well-told, intelligent story and complex, understated performances by Nicholas Cage and his co-stars easily make Seeking Justice a good choice for home viewing.