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Title: A Civil Action (1998)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| John Travolta | ... | Jan Schlichtmann | |
| Robert Duvall | ... | Jerome Facher | |
| Tony Shalhoub | ... | Kevin Conway | |
| William H. Macy | ... | James Gordon | |
| Zeljko Ivanek | ... | Bill Crowley | |
 |
Bruce Norris | ... | William Cheeseman |
| John Lithgow | ... | Judge Walter J. Skinner | |
| Kathleen Quinlan | ... | Anne Anderson | |
| Peter Jacobson | ... | Neil Jacobs | |
| Mary Mara | ... | Kathy Boyer | |
| James Gandolfini | ... | Al Love | |
| Stephen Fry | ... | Pinder | |
| Dan Hedaya | ... | John Riley | |
| David Thornton | ... | Richard Aufiero | |
| Sydney Pollack | ... | Al Eustis | |
Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious lawyer, is addressed by a group of families. When investigating the seemingly non-profiting case, he finds it to be a major environmental issue that has a lot of impact potential. A leather production company could be responsible for several deadly cases of leukemia, but also is the main employer for the area. Schlichtmann and his three colleagues set out to have the company forced to decontaminate the affected areas, and of course to sue for a major sum of compensation. But the lawyers of the leather company's mother company are not easy to get to, and soon Schlichtmann and his friends find themselves in a battle of mere survival. Written by Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>
Personal injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann is approached by a group of families who believe they are being poisoned by a toxic waste dump near their water supply as many of their children have developed leukemia. Two of America's biggest law firms defend the case which stretches over 9 years and threatens to bankrupt Schlichtmann's firm and all it's staff.
I approached this film with firm expectations. I work as an environmental consultant and in part of my law training I was advised to read the book as it was a good case study (albeit a 500 page case study) on a environmental case. The book was fascinating if a little heavy in detail. For the film I knew that much of it was going to be trimmed but I didn't realize how much. The `trimmed' bit is the whole case! There is none of the trial instead any court room scenes are more focused on the characters than the case.
As a film this still plays well and is entertaining if not enlightening or interesting. It still carries the mantle of being `true' but without any of the book's case detail it is never more than a Grisham-esque drama despite having a better ending.
The cast are great easily turning out for a worthy film and they are rewarded because the characters get much better treatment than the facts. Travolta does well but doesn't manage to be as real as the book's portrayal of Schlichtmann. Duvall is good while the rest of the cast are very much support but manage to be deep. When names like William H Macy, Shalhoub, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, Stephen Fry, Dan Hedaya and James Gandolfini are all in support then you rightly expect it to be a very worthy film.
Overall this is a good film that is entertaining. There is a more powerful, more interesting and moving captivating story at it's heart anyone wanting that story should read the book.