IMDb Description: In Canton, Mississippi a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan. Ebert review: three stars ("...the movie is interested in the white characters as people and black characters as atmosphere.")
Lawyer protagonist: Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey, in his first break-out role)
Evil antagonist: D.A. Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey); white supremacy; systemic racism; KKK; oppressive heat
Client: Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson)
Star supporting cast: Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock, miscast IMHO); Harry Rex, Jake's friend (Oliver Platt); Lucien Wilbanks, Jake's mentor (Donald Sutherland); Carla Brigance, Jake's wife (Ashley Judd); Chris Cooper as a local police officer
Background: A Time to Kill was the first Grisham novel published, but the fourth to be adapted to a film. Matthew McConaughey was basically an unknown at the time and the studio and director took a chance on him. He was entering the big leagues with Sandra Bullock and Samuel L. Jackson, and even though he's the clear star of the movie he's billed after both of them (apparently it's alphabetical billing). He does well in his first starring role; Jackson is great as always; and Bullock is slightly miscast in my opinion as the smart, liberal, brash law student begging to be Jake's assistant free of charge. It's directed by Joel Schumacher, a sort of poor-man's Michael Bay, fresh off of Batman Forever. Two years previously he also directed another Grisham adaption, The Client.
In small town Canton, Mississippi, two Confederate-loving degenerate rednecks come across a ten-year old black girl walking home from the grocery story. They grab her and proceed to tie her up and rape her (thankfully this is all implied in the filmmaking but it was still hard to watch). The two men are arrested, and as they are walking through the courthouse to be arraigned, Carl Lee, the girl's father, guns them down in front of A LOT OF PEOPLE. Local boy lawyer Jake Brigance takes the case, more out of a desire to be famous and further his career with a super difficult case than to see justice prevail.
Justice prevailing. Hmm. Everyone knows that Carl Lee committed the crime. He did it out of vengeance. The film comes down mostly on the side that what he did was okay, because sometimes there is "a time to kill". Justice has been served. But revenge as a motive has never sat well with me. Carl Lee is the breadwinner for his family, and with him in jail his family struggles to get by. If he gets the death sentence, then what happens to his family? The long-term consequences do not outweigh the short-term feeling of satisfaction. Being there for his family, especially his little girl that experienced unimaginable trauma and physical pain, is a far better choice.
Carl Lee and his role in the crime that starts the story becomes secondary to how being his lawyer affects Jake, the white protagonist. The Ku Klux Klan targets everyone around him, eventually burning down his house and causing him to send his wife and daughter away. It can be a bit simplistic way to view the racial aspects of the story. The film goes fairly easy on the individual and systemic racism, and instead uses the KKK as the real villain of the film.
It makes me think of an article I read a couple summers ago during the social unrest after the killing of George Floyd. While racism is a systemic issue, most media and schools portray the evils of racism through the KKK or one bad person like a sheriff or cop. It allows white people to feel removed from systemic racism and to claim that it was basically solved when the Civil Rights Act was passed. But that's not the case; racism IS individual but it's also very much systemic.
The film follows all the basics of the story from the novel, but excises all the extraneous parts that weren't necessary to tell a complete story. It also chooses to actually show Carl Lee on the witness stand, instead of completing skipping out on it like Grisham did. However, it all happens really fast and is over so quickly that I wish there had more to come from it.
The production values are good throughout, with lots of interesting camera movements. Schumacher stages his scenes well, particularly when Jake visits Carl Lee in jail. Everyone is doused in sweat, which I honestly thought was a really nice touch. The story isn't exactly interested in legal strategy and how the legal system works, but it's a fun enough legal "thriller" that's worth a watch.
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