Synopsis for
A Time to Kill (1996) More at IMDbPro »

This first appeared on www.realmoviereview.com I like most of the movies based on John Grishams lawyers-with-capes novels, but this is not one of my favourites. There is a good story and has interesting characters, however there are too many characters to allow for proper development and the screenplay is emotionally manipulative and seems like the powers that be, really wanted to pump up the violence where ever they could. Some movies do benefit from this kind of treatment, and it may improve this film for some, but it detracts from the story. The dialog is uneven and even the strong cast cannot always save it.

Samuel L. Jackson is a dirt poor southern farmer named Carl Lee Hailey, whose ten year old daughter is kidnapped, abused and raped. When the two white men accused of the horrible crime appear in court, Carl Lee shows up, as well, and brings along an assault rifle. When the dust clears, the two defendants are dead, a deputy is wounded and Carl Lee is charged with murder and facing the death penalty. Enter Carl Lees friend, lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) to defend Carl Lee, in the midst of a growing maelstrom of racial violence, led by Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland). Soon, Brigances wife, played by Ashley Judd has left town, as he faces more and more danger.

This movie has too many stars. It doesnt need them all, and several characters could have been combined into one. The escalating violence is overdone and seems cartoonish, but still it has the heroic lawyer lead that Grisham is famous for, and Matthew McConaughey is effective as his aw shucks good old boy character works on the jury. Worth checking out for Grisham fans, but The Firm it is not.