A Time to Kill (1996 film)

A Time to Kill is a 1996 American courtroom crime drama film based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name. Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Kevin Spacey star, with Oliver Platt, Ashley Judd, and Kiefer Sutherland, and Patrick McGoohan appearing in supporting roles. The film was a critical and commercial success, making $152 million at the worldwide box office. It is the second of two films based on Grisham's novels directed by Joel Schumacher, with the other being "The Client" released two years prior.
Plot.
In the fictional town of Clanton, Mississippi, ten-year-old African American Tonya Hailey is abducted, raped, and beaten by two local white men, Billy Ray Cobb and James Willard. The duo dump her in a nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her. Tonya survives, and the two men are arrested by Sheriff Ozzie Walls.
Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, contacts Jake Brigance, a white lawyer who previously defended his brother. Brigance admits the possibility that the rapists will walk free. Carl Lee goes to the county courthouse and opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing both rapists and unintentionally injuring Deputy Dwayne Looney, whose leg is later amputated. Carl Lee is arrested and Brigance agrees to defend him.
The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media attention. The district attorney, Rufus Buckley, decides to seek the death penalty, and presiding Judge Omar Noose denies Brigance a change of venue to a more ethnically-diverse county, meaning that Carl Lee will have an all-white jury. Brigance seeks help from his defense team: law student Ellen Roark, close friend Harry Rex Vonner, and former mentor and longtime activist Lucien Wilbanks, a once-great civil rights lawyer. Meanwhile, Billy Ray's brother, Freddie Lee Cobb, plans to avenge his brother's death by joining and enlisting the help of the Mississippi branch of the Ku Klux Klan and its Grand Dragon, Stump Sisson.
On the first day of the trial, the Klan rallies, only to be outnumbered by counter-protesters consisting of the area's black and multiracial residents, as well as whites who support Carl Lee. The protest erupts into a violent brawl that results in dozens of injuries and the death of Stump Sisson. The Klan also begins to target Brigance, assaulting his elderly secretary and her husband, who dies of a heart attack brought on by the assault. They also burn a cross on his lawn and threaten his wife and daughter. When Brigance refuses to back down, Cobb kidnaps and assaults Roark. The Klan then increases their attacks, including burning Brigance's house.
Dispirited, Brigance tells Carl Lee that there is little hope for an acquittal. Carl Lee replies that he had chosen Brigance as an attorney because he is a white man and has insight into how the jury sees Carl Lee. "When you look at me, you don't see a man, you see a black man. (...) You are my secret weapon because you are one of the bad guys. You don't mean to be, but you are. It's how you was raised. (...) No matter how you see me, you see me different, you see me like that jury sees me, you are them. (...) If you was on that jury, what would it take to convince you to set me free?". During closing arguments, a deeply-shaken Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the entire ordeal of Tonya. Brigance then asks the jury, in his final comment, to "now imagine she's white."
After deliberation, a black child runs out of the courthouse and screams, "He's innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside. The Klan members, enraged, begin yelling in anger. Meanwhile, Sheriff Walls arrests Freddie Lee for his crimes, as well as a corrupt deputy who is also a member of the Klan and is standing next to the sheriff.
Brigance brings his wife and daughter to a family cookout at Carl Lee's house to celebrate his freedom.
Reception.
Box office.
"A Time to Kill" was released in the U.S. on July 24, 1996. It reached number one during its first two weeks and grossed over $108 million domestically.
Critical reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 67% based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 6.16/10. The critics' consensus reads: "Overlong and superficial, "A Time to Kill" nonetheless succeeds on the strength of its skillful craftsmanship and top-notch performances". It has a score of 54 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 21 reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.
Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, saying: "I was absorbed by "A Time to Kill", and found the performances strong and convincing," and added that "this is the best of the film versions of Grisham novels, I think, and it has been directed with skill by Joel Schumacher."
The film was not without its detractors. Anthony Puccinelli gave the film one star, calling it "worthless" and remarking: ""A Time to Kill" argues for vigilantism but disguises its message by making the vigilante black, allowing viewers to think their blood lust and thirst for revenge is actually empathy for the oppressed." Peter Travers felt that "they [Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman] cram[med] in too much," adding, "This distracts from the heart of the picture, which is in the bond between Carl Lee (the brilliant [Samuel L.] Jackson is quietly devastating) and Jake, a husband and father who knows he, too, would have shot anyone who raped his little girl." Gene Siskel remarked it was "An overwrought, contrived courtroom thriller", "cornball" and concluded "This story has been recycled out of countless better movies."
Grisham enjoyed the film, remarking: "When all was said and done I was happy with it, happy we were able to find a kid like Matthew McConaughey. It wasn't a great movie, but it was a good one."
Reaction in France.
In France, the film has been the subject of controversy. Critics have accused the movie of making an apology for the death penalty and right of self-defense. A question mark was added at the end of the title ("Le Droit de tuer ?"/"The Right to Kill ?") so as not to shock the audience. Amnesty International France uses the word "disturbing" when referring to the film in one of its documents. "Les Inrockuptibles" described the film as "nauseating", "stinking", almost "fascist", with an "ultra-populist" script that makes one want to "vomit". "Libération" criticized the script, calling it "extremely dirty": the movie, says the newspaper, "militates in favour of the black cause only to legitimize, after many plot buckles (resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan, the deceits of court, threats of many kinds) the mentally ill gesture of the avenging father". According to "Libération", the movie "justifies the indefensible" with a "dripping sentimentalism".
Soundtrack.
Elliot Goldenthal scored the film. AllMusic gave the soundtrack two and a half stars out of five, commenting that it "doesn't work particularly well when it's separated from the film itself."
Credits