Charity's Place.com

A TIME TO KILL

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: language, thematic elements

Rated:

The best kind of movie is one that delivers a sucker punch to your midsection. This is one of the reasons I like courtroom dramas so much, because the law is subject to the emotions of the audience. Lawyers must present the case but also appeal to the emotions of the jurors because in the end, it's our prejudices and emotions that determine the verdict, not our common sense.

In John Grisham's hard-hitting novel and the film adaptation, we are asked to choose between the lesser of two evils in the conviction of a man that we know did it... and what's more, we understand why and even might secretly support his decision. The film opens on a sunny afternoon. A little black girl carefully loads her mother's groceries into a brown sack and walks the long road home. She's no more than a mile down the lane when a truck with two racist thugs in it pulls up. They throw a can of beer. We see the groceries fall. Hours later, the two men are arrested for the rape and attempted murder of the child. Her father Carl (Samuel L. Jackson) knows their chances of getting off are good. So he takes matters into his own hands, in the belief that his friend and defense attorney Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) will come to his assistance.

Gunning down the thugs on the courthouse steps, Carl leaves the two men dead and an officer permanently disabled. Horrified at what he has inadvertently caused, Jake goes against the advice of his wife (Ashley Judd) and decides to represent Carl at trial. He attempts to enlist the advice of disbarred former defense attorney Lucien Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland), while working with his friend and colleague Harry Vonner (Oliver Platt). Also fascinated with the case is the ambitious Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock), an attorney from the North who has an interest in capital cases. They're up against District Attorney Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey), and the case ignites racial hatred throughout Mississippi. The Klu Klux Klan comes out in full force to protest, endangering the lives of everyone involved in the defense.

To say this movie is intense is an understatement. It's as much about the emotions of the characters as the violence depicted on screen. Grisham's work is never without a defining moment, but this seems to have several of them. The audience is horrified to see the KKK carry out violence in the streets. We're sickened by the description of what happened to Carl's daughter in the courtroom. Our logical side demands that he be punished for murdering two people in cold blood, but our emotions understand why he did it. It demands that we explore what we might have done in his shoes, and in this sense is more than successful. If you can get through to the end with your eyes dry, it'd be a miracle. That being said, this isn't an easy to film to watch. It's very worth it, but not the kind of thing you can sit down with a box of popcorn and enjoy as cinematic drama. It leaves you emotionally battered, having been assaulted with a variety of racial and social issues.

The little girl's rape is implied in the beginning (we see the men from her perspective, but nothing graphic) but brutally discussed during the closing statements of the trial. Attorneys become nasty in cross-examination, revealing details of a conviction for statutory rape in a witness' past. The KKK kidnap a woman and tie her to a post in the woods, ripping her clothes (she is seen briefly in her underwear), intending to leave her there to die. Ellen sees Jake's bare backside while patching up a wound on his leg. He almost kisses her once or twice, but shows restraint. There are a limited number of profanities, one use of the finger, and a few sexual remarks, but the film also contains numerous racial slurs ("n*gger"). KKK members burn crosses on lawns, riots erupt in the street, and witnesses are intimidated (one older man is beaten nearly to death). The murder scene contains some blood spatter. There are discussions about capital cases and whether or not the death penalty is appropriate.

There are numerous good lessons to be learned, since it does explore the continuing racism of the South and most particularly, in the chauvinistic white elitist pro-KKK groups. Jake pursues the case despite personal danger because he believes it's the right thing to do. While the prosecution is depicted as being hard-hitters, they are not villianized. Although tempted during a rough patch with his wife to have an affair with Ellen, Jake remains faithful and works to repair his marriage. He also takes drastic steps at the end of the film to close racial division and make his friendship with Clark more than just political rhetoric. Audiences might also get a kick out of the cast, all then-unknowns who are popular now. Sutherland's son Kiefer even has a role as the malicious brother of one of the murdered men. If you have a strong sense of justice, this is a must-see.