Time to Kill, A [29]

This movie is based on John Grisham's first book and follows the book with incredible accuracy. I left the theater thinking that this movie was going to sweep the Academy Awards for the year, but it didn't. The story is about a lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) in the rural south, whose client's daughter is beaten and raped. The child's father (Samuel L Jackson) kills the two assailants while they are in custody and is being tried for the murder of the assailants.

Considering the number of big stars (Samuel L Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Sandra Bullock, Charles Dutton, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, and Patrick McGoohan ), the makers prevented disaster by surrounding the relatively unknown McConaughey with these giants in supporting roles and not letting any of them dominate the film.

The focus is on the politics of trying a black man in the rural white south for the murder of two white men. They take us through the strategy of the trial and the manipulation of the jury. I won't go any further, except to suggest that you should only see this movie if you are ready to witness an uncensored slice of American reality. I expect this movie to eventually make an appearance on the History Channel. I suggest you pay close attention to the McConaughey's closing arguments to the jury, because he throws a subtle curve that may have you questioning your own bias. (KC)

Added: April 7th 2004
Reviewer: KC
29 Point Scale Score:    [29]

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