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 ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.

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
RaéVen 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 | revenge | 

---

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 USA:

$19,630,000, 28 July 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$108,766,007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,266,007

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

A long time conservative, in the film Matthew McConaughey played a liberal lawyer.

---

Goofs

When Rufus Buckley is shown from afar, just before questioning Cora Mae Cobb, she is not on the stand. In the next shot, she is on the stand.

---

Quotes

Freddie Lee Cobb: [Freddie Lee Cobb handling out Klu Klux Klan application forms to Winston, Willie Hastings, and others] Boys, I am very proud to invite you to become soldiers in a war to protect our Christian homes and families, to resurrect our country from the fires of racial degradation, and to make white people the sole masters of our country's destiny, what I'm saying fellas, it's time for niggers to pay.

---

Alternate Versions

The first name of the Jake Brigance character becomes ''Jack'' Brigance in the Italian version.

---

Connections

Referenced in Chappelle's Show: Episode #2.1 (2004)

---

Soundtracks

Ain't Got Time To Die
Traditional spiritual arranged by Randolph Watson

User Reviews

A time to thrill!

Who in this movie does'nt play there part perfectly? The judge looks like a judge, a hanging judge at that. The sheriff is not a sugar coated law man, rather a tough Mississippi fair law man who knows what to do realistically. All the actors are cast in the only part they could be. THEN when the intensity of the movie gets to the boiling point who comes in to give us a break? You ALL know who. There she is to give us a break, and a laugh as Sandra swoops in on us. She is by far and away the most delightful actress I have ever seen. Even after she is beaten up and in a hospital bed she gives us a couple of chuckles. She has a delivery second to none. Every one, every one plays their role perfectly. Great movie, easy to follow, great story line, great all the way around. Do I like it? Yea about fifty times viewed like it.