A Time to Kill (1996)

Truly Dreadful Film

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Another reviewer on this board made a comparison of the film with "To Kill a Mockingbird", and although the same thought came to me while watching it, the similarity is never fully realized. In the earlier movie, a black man was found guilty of raping a white woman, and the stereotype of redneck Southern justice is essentially carried out. The better comparison I think, can be made with another film I just recently viewed, that being "Sleepers", in which a pair of thugs murder a former reform school guard who physically abused them while they were in their teens. The whole idea of social justice is stood on it's head in both films, and if the thought behind each movie is to make viewers feel conflicted about their outcomes, then they both succeeded. Just like Gregory Peck's character in 'Mockingbird', Jake Brigance approached his job via a one on one relationship with the accused, a man who's ability to reason is shattered when his ten year old daughter is assaulted and raped by the side of the road, and left to die when a couple of degenerates decide to partake in some demented version of what they consider fun. However the character who perhaps straddles the line best between blacks and whites in the story is Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton), a black man who has the same keen sense of justice as does Brigance. He's unafraid to arrest the guilty perpetrators of the horrible rape of the ten year old Tonya Hailey (RaéVen Kelly), nor is he troubled about taking her father (Samuel L. Jackson) into custody for the shooting at the courthouse. I had the sense that he was a well respected man of Canton who saw his job as color blind in the eyes of the law.In a way, the picture's most defining moment might have been saved for the very final scene. Following Carl Lee Hailey's (Jackson) impassioned dialog with his lawyer, one which inspired Jake Brigance to revamp his closing argument, we see Brigance and his family arrive at the Hailey home, as jubilant neighbors celebrate the acquittal. Taking to heart what it means to be truly accepting of others different from themselves, Jake confidently comes to terms with Carl Lee's persuasive suggestion by stating, "Just thought our kids could play together".

This movie is the film adaptation of John Grisham's A Time to Kill. Some would (inevitably) argue that the book is better but I won't because both are pretty bad. I will make the case for the film being better merely because the acting had more emotion than the novel.According to Wikipedia "The inspiration came from the case of the rape and assault of 12 year old Marcie Scott and her 16 year old sister Julie Scott. Unlike Grisham's depiction, however, the Scotts were white and their assailant, Willie Harris, was black." which is hilarious when you consider the defense's closing argument "now imagine she's white."Only in the realm of fiction could the plot of this movie happen.There's an iconic scene by Samuel Jackson so I'll give it 2 stars.

"In conditions where everything is stacked against the majority, 'playing fair' amounts to accepting a position of disadvantage. In fighting for fairness, one doesn't have 'play fair'. It's the classic problem of Liberals - taking the moral high ground and leaving it at that. Power doesn't play by those rules. If you are looking to change the rules, why start by abiding by them?" - Mark Fisher Based on a novel by John Grisham, and directed by Joel Schumacher, "A Time to Kill" opens with a pair of stereotypical racists driving a pick-up truck into a poor African-American neighbourhood. The duo then assault and rape a young African-American girl. Later the girl's father, Carl Lee (Samuel L Jackson), shoots the culprits dead on the steps of a courthouse. These murders are justifiable, Lee's attorney (Matthew McConaughey) argues, because "the law is racist", would have pardoned the killers and would not have delivered justice to a black father. As a representative from the NAACP says, "Carl Lee's freeing for the killing of two white men would do more for black people in this land than anything since civil-rights integration." On one hand, "A Time to Kill" is your typical Liberal Deep South Lawyer Movie. Our heroes are righteous, upstanding and stand up for marginalised black folk. On the other hand, the film argues passionately for vigilantism (a trait usually associated with "conservative" films). For Grisham, vigilantism is fine when executed by the oppressed. Encapsulating these themes are the film's opening and closing sequences; Schumacher opens with racists spitting in the face of an African-American man and ends with an African-American woman spitting in the face of a white racist. What was once condemned, is finally embraced."A Time to Kill's" philosophical gymnastics and racial inversions are interesting. But they don't make up for the rest of Schumacher's picture. This is ultimately a cartoonish portrait of the Deep South. And like most films "about racism", "A Time to Kill" trades entirely in racial caricatures, with its goofy, "churchgoing black folk", "gospel choirs" and "mad rednecks". Sandra Bullock co-stars as a law student who exists only to get lynched on a tree and prove McConaughey's fidelity to his wife (Ashley Judd).7/10 – Worth one viewing.

This is the sort of film that I am certain in 30 or 40 years will be considered a classic. Even if you ignore the fact that it is a terrific cast full of familiar faces and stars that went onto to be superstars, the story and the concept and the writing and the ethical and moral dilemma that comes out of this will be talked about for decades. Grisham created one of the best legal thrillers ever and who better because the man practically created the genre. Translating it to the big screen would be no small feat but I think they went a step beyond and captured the book and the characters very nearly flawlessly. The film runs a little long, I'm not sure given that it is technically a "thriller" moreso than a drama that it should feel like it drags just a little bit but I can't fault them for making sure the characters and idea is fully developed. The best thing to come out of A Time To Kill is the dialogue. The script for this film written by Akiva Goldsman is brilliant and masterful. He has done some great screenplays (we'll forgive him Batman and Robin and Lost In Space) but this is truly one of his best. Fortunately for him he also had some incredible actors delivering the lines.Matthew McConaughey is perfect as the struggling lawyer Jake Brigance. No one can play down to earth better than McConaughey and his charisma is brilliant on screen. He also plays a darn good lawyer. His closing speech is one of my favourite scenes in film. Samuel L Jackson perfectly plays the father who murders his daughter's rapists in cold blood. Jackson is emotional and moving in his role and the chemistry between he and McConaughey is very good. There are such incredible actors in this film and the one criticism I can give the film is that I feel like once you move away from the main cast, some of the supporting cast doesn't get the screen time they could have or deserve. Kevin Spacey is good but underused as the cocky DA Rufus Buckley and Sandra Bullock is feisty and fun and a very strong female lead but underused in her role. Oliver Platt who was always good for the sarcastic, fun but serious looking supporting character does exactly that in this film. Donald Sutherland is also terrific as Brigance's mentor but I wanted to see more of him. Kiefer Sutherland couldn't be better playing the smarmy and evil looking brother of one of the dead rapists. Ashley Judd is sort of flash in the pan as McConaughey's wife.This was Joel Schumacher at his best. He was a great director at one time but has slipped in recent years. This was a great example of the sort of vision he once had. He captures the racial tension of the deep south perfectly. You can just feel the air of tumultuous politics. Despite being a courtroom battle, the film is more about the racial battle happening outside the courtroom. The case and situations gives rise to a brand of the KKK and puts Brigance's life in danger and those in his life around him in danger as well. The opening scenes of the film are literally hard to watch, one of the most disturbing rape scenes in film and yet not because its graphically done or shown in poor taste but rather you feel and sense the danger and horrible act that is being done to a defenceless little girl. A Time To Kill is terrific. Its more art than entertainment because of the concepts behind it but if you love legal drama, thrillers, courtroom battles or just a very good film then this is one to see. 8.5/10