Running Time. 2 hours 29 mins
Director. Joel Schumacher
Cast. Sandra Bullock, Chris Cooper, Charles S. Dutton, Brenda Fricker, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashley Judd, Matthew McConaughey, Patrick McGoohan, Oliver Platt, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland.
Rating. 68%
John Grisham's first novel, A Time To Kill, was rejected by several major American publishing companies before Wynwood Press finally committed to a meagre 5,000-copy print run in 1989. When his second novel, The Firm, sold more than 1,500,000 copies in the space of 12 months, Grisham quickly became Hollywood's hottest literary property.
The Firm was the first film adaptation of a John Grisham novel, quickly followed by The Pelican Brief, released later in the same year (1993). In 1994, Joel Schumacher was handed directorial duties for the third adaptation, The Client. Two years later, Schumacher plundered Grisham's back catalogue and released the adaptation of his first novel, A Time To Kill.
A Time To Kill begins with the brutal rape of a 10-year-old black girl by two drunken, degenerate rednecks. When the young girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands, the scene is set for courtroom confrontation between politically ambitious District Attorney, Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey) and Hailey's inexperienced defence attorney, Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey).
The performances from the ensemble cast are mightily impressive. Whilst A Time To Kill was the film that propelled Matthew McConaughey to stardom, Samuel L. Jackson doesn't get nearly enough credit for a heartwrenching performance as the avenging father. This is as an emotionally deep, layered performance as I've seen from Jackson. There's no regret or remorse from Carl Lee Hailey, "Yes, they deserved to die and I hope they burn in Hell!"
The truth is, the cast of A Time To Kill, is better than the film itself. Each actor manages to disguise the emptiness of the film's premise with convincing, emotionally intense performances. Nonetheless, A Time To Kill remains one of the better adaptations of a John Grisham novel.
Yet, the simple plot touches upon one inescapable, and uncomfortable truth, that plagues much of America today.
"America is a war and you are on the other side. How's a black man ever going to get a fair trial with the enemy on the bench and in the jury box? My life in white hands?"
Comments
Post a Comment