A gritty, intense and engaging courtroom drama.
A Time to Kill (1996)
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Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:33
Rotten:15
Average Rating:6.1/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 30 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This adaptation of John Grisham's bestseller takes place in the small town of Canton, Mississippi, where two White rednecks kidnap, rape and savagely beat a young Black girl. The men are caught,... This adaptation of John Grisham's bestseller takes place in the small town of Canton, Mississippi, where two White rednecks kidnap, rape and savagely beat a young Black girl. The men are caught, but the child's deeply enraged father, Carl Lee Hailey, takes justice into his own hands by killing the thugs himself at the courthouse. Now Carl Lee Hailey is the one on trial, a highly controversial and fiery proceeding that begets numerous racial issues and incidents, some involving the Ku Klux Klan and the NAACP. At the center of this storm is White lawyer Jake Brigance, who not only faces an all-White jury, but personal attacks on his life should he win the case. Brigance, Hailey and Ellen Roark, a rich law student aiding Jake, face a tough road ahead of them, one that will change their lives forever. [More]
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Charles S. Dutton, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, Brenda Fricker, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, M. Emmet Walsh
Director: Joel Schumacher
Director: Joel Schumacher
Story: John Grisham
Screenwriter: Akiva Goldsman
Reviews for A Time to Kill
Justice may be blind, but rarely have courtroom dramas presumed quite so heavily on cultural myopia as this heinous version of John Grisham's first novel.
Only a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman could make things worse--and lo and behold, speak of the devil and Old Scratch appears.
Although it has its share of implausibilities, A Time To Kill is generally the most satisfying of the John Grisham screen adaptations to date.
With Joel Schumacher's tasteful but second-rate-Sidney-Lumet direction and Akiva Goldsman's nuts-and-bolts script, these boys have created a surprisingly stirring indictment of racism.
McConaughey nails with such laconic grace that some critics are comparing him to the young Paul Newman and to Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird.
If the film doesn't add up to a cogent legal argument, neither does it have trouble delivering 2 hours and 20 minutes' worth of sturdy, highly charged drama.
Insight into black/white relations is superficial -- disappointing when you consider that the moral of the story is supposed to be how large a role race plays in the execution of justice.
Latest News for A Time to Kill
November 24, 2006:
"Batman & Robin" Writer Gets $4 Million for "Da Vinci" Prequel
Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is allegedly earning a $4 million dollar paycheck for his adaptation of Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons," which features the... More...
May 23, 2006:
Goldsman Signs On for "Angels & Demons"
Yesterday we shared the news that the "Da Vinci Code" prequel was being discussed, and today comes word that screenwriter Akiva Goldsman will definitely be returning.... More...
April 15, 2005:
Zooey Prepares for "Launch"
The Hollywood Reporter gets with the reporting by informing us of "Failure to Launch," an upcoming romantic comedy from Paramount. The blue-eyed Zooey Deschanel... More...
March 24, 2005:
Critical Consensus: "Miss Congeniality" Armed, But Unfabulous
It’s been a while since Sandra Bullock’s last appearance on the big screen – 2002’s romantic comedy hit, “Two Weeks Notice,” co-starring Hugh Grant. She returns with “Miss... More...
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