A Time to Kill (1996)

In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, inciting a revolt by local racist groups.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

John Grisham (novel), Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Jake Tyler Brigance
Sandra Bullock	...	Ellen Roark
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Carl Lee Hailey
Kevin Spacey	...	D.A. Rufus Buckley
Oliver Platt	...	Harry Rex Vonner
Charles S. Dutton	...	Sheriff Ozzie Walls
Brenda Fricker	...	Ethel Twitty
Donald Sutherland	...	Lucien Wilbanks
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Freddie Lee Cobb
Patrick McGoohan	...	Judge Omar Noose
Ashley Judd	...	Carla Brigance
Tonea Stewart	...	Gwen Hailey
Rae'Ven Kelly	...	Tonya Hailey (as RaéVen Larrymore Kelly)
Darrin Mitchell	...	Skip Hailey
LaConte McGrew	...	Slim Hailey

Storyline

In Canton, Mississippi, 10-year-old Tonya Hailey is viciously brutalized by two white racist rednecks -- James Louis "Pete" Willard and Billy Ray Cobb. Almost immediately after Tonya is found and rushed to a hospital, Pete and Billy Ray are found at a roadside bar, where they had been bragging about what they did to Tonya. Tonya's understandably distraught and enraged father, Carl Lee Hailey, remembers a case from a year ago, when four white men raped an African-American girl in a nearby town, and got acquitted. Carl is determined to not let that happen in this case. While deputy Dwayne Powell Looney is escorting Pete and Billy Ray up a flight of stairs to a court room, Carl emerges from the building's basement with an assault rifle, and he kills Pete and Billy Ray for what they did to Tonya. Carl is later arrested at his house by African-American sheriff Ozzie Walls, and Carl is scheduled to be placed on trial. Despite the efforts of the NAACP and local African-American leaders to ...

---

Plot Keywords:

mississippi | african american | trial | law | court | 

---

Taglines:

A lawyer and his assistant fighting to save a father on trial for murder. A time to question what they believe. A time to doubt what they trust. And no time for mistakes.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some graphic language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tiempo de matar

Filming Locations:

Canton, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$19,630,000 (USA) (26 July 1996)

Gross:

$108,706,165 (USA) (22 November 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

149 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes six Oscar winners: Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Brenda Fricker, Chris Cooper and Octavia Spencer; and one Oscar nominee: Samuel L. Jackson

---

Goofs

At the airport, when Jake sends his family away, a UPS plane can be seen in the background. At that airport, the cargo terminals are south of the passenger terminals, and cannot be seen from the north side of the terminal (where the outside scene was set).

---

Quotes

Freddie Lee Cobb: You can't blame a nigger for being a nigger, no more than you can blame a dog for being a dog. But a whore like you, co-mingling with mongrels, betraying your own. That makes you worse than a nigger. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll leave you tied up here naked. First, it'll just be bugs eating at ya. One day, maybe two. That sun's gonna be cooking you. And animals... they're gonna pick on your stink. They'll come looking for something to eat.
Ellen Roark: Carl Lee Hailey should've shot you too.
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in Psych: Remake A.K.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Slippin' Through The Oaks
Written by Richard Paddison
Performed by Jesse Johnson
Courtesy of Dinosaur Entertainment

User Reviews

Take A TIME TO WATCH this movie !!

One of the best dramas I've seen.

Great performances from Samuel Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey.

I've seen this movie four times and each time I see it, his closing speech has made me cry loudly.

I highly recommend it. You won't regret it.