In the 1st of my new Classic Movie Rentals Recommendation Series, I assessment A Time to Kill (1996).
If you have some time to kill, go and rent A Time to Kill, based on John Grisham's first novel, which was rejected by a bevy of publishers and only dusted off once more after he became a achievement with later novels. It, and the film, had been really worth the wait.
A Time to Kill, as other Grisham stories, is set in the Deep South, this time targeting the concern of race relations and asking the pointed question, 'Can an African-American man who has murdered two white men get a fair trial, or even a jury of his peers?' Of course, it's not all so basic. The two dead white males had been violent scum to start with and show no remorse for their actions. Despite the fact that they committed the initial crime, the rape and attempted murder of the African-American man's tiny girl, the problem for debate is, can justice prevail in a circumstance like this? Even though vigilanteism is against the law, who among us would not entertain the believed of meting out our own punishment if it had been our loved ones who were victimized?
That is the position taken by defense attorney Jake Brigance, played by Matthew McConaughey in his initial large role. He is incessantly driven by the specter of such a heinous crime befalling his personal wife or little daughter, not by cash (what a concept!) which his client, Carl Lee Haley, doesn't have. His perseverance is admirable in the face of death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, and of the extremely genuine possibility that his budding law profession could go up in flames faster than the cross burned in his front yard.
McConaughey had a lot of advance publicity to live up to, but he carries the load properly with his down-property Southern charisma and organic ability. And he is surrounded by great supporting players here—Kevin Spacey is remarkable as the self-assured prosecutor aiming for profession-boosting headlines in a case he understands he can't lose. The significant cast also incorporates Sandra Bullock as an ambitious law student who likes to flirt Oliver Platt, a sex-starved divorce lawyer who offers lots of comic moments so essential to this film Donald Sutherland, a brilliant but alcoholic disbarred attorney who took a incorrect turn someplace and quite Ashley Judd as Jake's loving wife. McConaughey and Judd's scenes sizzle, really possibly simply because the makeup department overdid the sweat. Or possibly the Brigances need to invest in an air conditioner.
At two and a half hours, A Time to Kill is gripping courtroom drama with fine acting, thought-provoking realism sprinkled with many enjoyable-to-watch characters.
Shelly Greenhalgh-Davis is the author of two well-liked historical fiction novels, Eagle Shadow and its sequel Eagle Increasing. Visit her at www.shellygreenhalghdavis.com.
Post from articlesbase.com
