I did not read the book, I haven't read a Grisham novel since the nineties (when I was in High School)...That being said, I have enjoyed hiss film adaptations in the past--particularly Runaway Jury, The Rainmaker, and A Time to Kill.<br /><br />I just saw The Chamber last night on AMC and I have to admit it was incredibly weak. The acting was awful--Chris O'Donnell did not carry the lead well at all, and Faye Dunaway and Gene Hackman were also a great disappointment. In Dunaway and Hackamn's last scene together when Hackman starts crying I almost started laughing. This movie was completely unable to spur any sympathy in me for Cahall (Hackman).<br /><br />The screenplay was extremely cliché and boring. I have to agree with other posters on this site about the ridiculousness of the concept that the State of Mississippi sponsored murders in the 1960s. And Bo Jackson as the token black guy who sees the good in an old racist and proves that the old man can like black people is just stupid.<br /><br />This movie wouldn't have been cutting edge even if it came out in the seventies or maybe early eighties...sadly the clichés of racism and family dysfunction together with mediocre acting and writing makes this movie a snoozer.