A Time to Kill

A Time to Kill (film)

1996 - USA - 150 min. - Feature, Color
Director Joel Schumacher
Genre/Type Courtroom Drama, Message Movie, Drama
Flags Violence, Profanity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children
MPAA Rating R

Keywords revenge, bigot, injustice, kill, punishment, racist, rape, trial
Plot Lines Murder/murder-plot (consequences of), Revenge (for rape of loved one), Courtroom-trial, Bigotry (consequences of)
From book by Grisham, John
Produced by Regency Enterpr / Warner Bros

Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands after the legal system fails to adequately punish the men who brutally raped and beat his daughter, leaving her for dead. Normally, a distraught father could count on some judicial sympathy in those circumstances. Unfortunately, Carl and his daughter are black, and the assailants are white, and all the events take place in the South. Indeed, so inflammatory is the situation, that the local KKK (led by Kiefer Sutherland) becomes popular again. When Hailey chooses novice lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) to handle his defense, it begins to look like a certainty that Carl will hang, and Jake's career (and perhaps his life) will come to a premature end. Despite the efforts of the NAACP and local black leaders to persuade Carl to choose some of their high-powered legal help, he remains loyal to Jake, who had helped his brother with a legal problem before the story begins. Jake eventually takes this case seriously enough to seek help from his old law-school professor (Donald Sutherland). When death threats force his family to leave town, Jake even accepts the help of pushy young know-it-all lawyer Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock). -- Clarke Fountain

Cast

Matthew McConaughey is Jake Brigance
Samuel L. Jackson is Carl Lee Hailey
Sandra Bullock is Ellen Roark
Kevin Spacey is Rufus Buckley
Brenda Fricker is Ethel Twitty
Oliver Platt is Harry Rex Vonner
Jonathan Hadary is Norman Reinfield
Anthony Heald is Dr. Rodeheaver
Doug Hutchison is Pete Willard
Chris Cooper is Deputy Looney
Byron Jennings is Brent Musgrove
Mark W. Johnson is Hastings
Ashley Judd is Carla Brigance
Nicky Katt is Billy Ray Cobb
Rae'ven Kelly is Tonya Hailey
Alexandra Kyle is Hannah
Greg Lauren is Buckley's Asst.
Terry Loughlin is Sisco
John Diehl is Tim Nunley
Patrick McGoohan is Judge Omar Noose
Benjamin Mouton is KKK militant
Tim Parati is Winston
Beth Grant is Cora Cobb
Joe Seneca is Rev. Isaiah Street
Kurtwood Smith is Stump Sisson
Charles S. Dutton is Sheriff Ozzie Walls
Andy Stahl is Juror
Tonea Stewart is Gwen Hailey
Donald Sutherland is Lucien Wilbanks
Kiefer Sutherland is Freddie Cobb
Graham Timbes is Male Juror
M. Emmet Walsh is Defense Psychologist

Credits and reviews provided by All-Media Guide, http://allmovie.com

EMPATHY

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