![]() If it weren't for the rather contrived budding temptation that develops between Jake and Ellen, McConaughey's projection of integrity and fortitude would have single-handedly kept the story surging along. McConaughey finds a nice balance between outrage and desperation, allowing his character to wield lofty moral truisms without succumbing to sensationalism or sentimentality. Of course, it wouldn't matter how acutely Grisham or Goldsman examined these realities if Schumacher's cast hadn't given themselves to their roles. ![]() ![]() In that regard, A Time to Kill remains an important film one that manages to portray a potent cultural cancer as a dormant but dangerous factor in our modern lives. Political leanings aside, it's tough to deny that such archaic views have faded away - anyone who watched as campaign rally attendees frothed at the mouth and screamed obscenities at the thought of Barack Obama being elected president knows full well that racism is alive and well, regardless of how much our society likes to pretend it's been left in the past. ![]() The trial itself is merely a catalyst that brings out the worst in an otherwise peaceful community the real story is focused on the hatred brewing in a group of people who fail to grasp the state of affairs as they truly are. Haley's tale is a somber, all-too-relevant exploration of racism, bigotry, and justice that moves me each and every time I watch it. I've read more than a few disparaging reviews for A Time to Kill over the years - USA Today called it a "riotously cluttered melodrama," The Washington Post described it as "the moral equivalent of a cockfight," and the Razzie Awards nominated it for Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million - but, to be honest, I simply can't wrap my head around the reason behind such vehement criticism. As Buckley presents a damning prosecution to an all-white jury, Jake and his colleagues have to find a way to overcome the prejudice dominating the community and convince twelve people that Haley shouldn't be convicted of his crimes. When the county's district attorney, Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey), seeks the death penalty, a young lawyer named Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), a local divorce lawyer (Oliver Platt), and a feisty law student (Sandra Bullock) come together and agree to defend Carl. Unfortunately for Carl, a local deputy (Chris Cooper) is also wounded in the attack after a stray bullet from Haley's gun misses its mark. Jackson plays Carl Lee Haley, a rural Mississippi family man who takes the law into his own hands when he kills two men responsible for the rape and attempted hanging of his ten-year old daughter (Raeven Larrymore Kelly). Jackson teeters on the edge, eliciting empathy from his audience to great effect.Ī solemn and intense Samuel L. well, let's just say the actors prove they're more than up to the task. Dutton, and the late, great Patrick McGoohan. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, both Keifer and Donald Sutherland, Chris Cooper, Oliver Platt, Ashley Judd, Charles S. Schumacher delivers an inspiring ensemble that includes Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Notoriously uneven screenwriter Akiva Goldsman rights his Batman Forever wrongs with a script that's more akin to his work on A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man than Batman & Robin. Of the many films based on author John Grisham's legal fiction - The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, and Runaway Jury, among others - director Joel Schumacher's A Time to Kill is not only my favorite, but arguably one of the most sharply-written, smartly-cast courtroom dramas of the '90s. Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, February 14, 2009 Grisham's finest translates well to the big screen.
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