A CIVIL ACTION RATING: 6.5 / 10 --> So-so
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This film melds the respective talents of the man behind the words of SCHINDLER'S LIST (7/10) and the man who once proudly uttered the phrase "They call it Le BigMac" in a film, Steve Zaillian and John Travolta. Captured from a book written by Jonathan Harr, this film is based on a true story, stars plenty of big names and tosses in a couple of cameos, just for the fun of it.
PLOT: Typical shark-like lawyer with no conscience takes on a case featuring the suspiciously similar deaths of eight children in a small town. The parents believe that a local plant had contaminated the water supply, ultimately killing their kids. The lawyer fights two multinationals in court, but runs out of money nearing the end of the trial. Luckily for him, he's able to replace it with a newly developed sense of morals.
CRITIQUE: Interesting yet unexciting court-battle drama features Travolta in prime form as John Travolta, Duvall in one of his better supporting roles, and an unsatisfying ending which leaves you dispassionately shrugging your shoulders at best. This movie is a highbrow affair for people who 1) enjoy lawyer movies 2) don't require any action in their films and 3) don't mind a "realistic" ending and appreciate good actors. I personally found it to be quite humdrum, and even a little boring at times. Kinda had me wishing for a fistfight or something, one which, unfortunately for me, never materialized.
The plot is well developed, as is the execution of the film, but the missing link seemed to be the emotional attachment to the film or any of its characters. This seemed to be non-existent for me. Travolta's cold performance may have been the reason. Or maybe the lack of tension or real suspense. Not sure. All's I know is that the film had a superb idiosyncratic performance by Bobby Duvall, some interesting law factoids, and enough stars to agreeably allow me to weather its two-hour runtime, all without wowing me over.
All in all, a mediocre fabrication of law-cinema, offering some points of interest, no real action, and a weak ending, which applauds the hard work and genuine nature of some lawyers out there, while belaboring a few of the justice system's systemic imperfections. No need to see it on the big screen. Catch it on video, if interested.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: John Travolta received only $140,000 for his Oscar-nominated role in Quentin Tarantino's PULP FICTION (7.5/10), and a whopping $15,000,000 for 1997's FACE-OFF (8/10). He needn't make another movie for the rest of his life because he has secured a percentage of the profits from the Saturday Night Fever and Grease soundtracks (which have sold in excess of 19 million copies). Travolta was born the youngest of six children to tire salesman and former semiprofessional football player Salvatore Travolta, and high school drama teacher Helen Travolta. At the age of 16, Travolta dropped out of school (with his parents' permission, mind you) to pursue acting full-time. Travolta's white "disco outfit" from 1977's SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (7.5/10) recently fetched a record-setting $145,500 at a Christie's auction. Travolta's present wife, actress Kelly Preston, was once engaged to Hollywood bad-boy Charlie Sheen, and lived with George Clooney at another point in her life. Since 1964, Robert Duvall has been married three times, most recently to dance instructor Sharon Brophy. Their tumultuous divorce, which was set into motion by Duvall's allegations that Brophy had carried on an adulterous affair with a pool installer, dragged on for nearly three years. William H. Macy got his infamous role in the Coens' brothers FARGO (7/10) as such: From the moment he read the script, Macy knew he was the man best suited for the role of luckless car salesman Jerry "Hey! I'm cooperating here!" Lundegaard. Though asked to read for the part twice, Macy was eventually left hanging by those darn Coen brothers, who promised to get bac k to him. Shortly thereafter, the actor learned that the brothers were continuing to audition his prize part and promptly flew from L.A. to New York, where he cornered the still-deliberating duo and frankly informed them, "I'm very, very worried that you are going to screw up this movie by giving this role to somebody else. It's my role, and I'll shoot your dogs if you don't give it to me." The Coens conceded, and Macy's brilliant performance was rewarded with a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination in that very same year. Actor James Galdolfini's sister Johanna is a prominent official with the New Jersey Family Court system.
Review Date: January 12, 1999
Director: Steve Zaillian
Writer: Steve Zaillian
Producers: Rachel Pfeffer, Robert Redford and Scott Rudin
Actors: John Travolta as Jan Schlichtmann
Robert Duvall as Jerome Facher
William H. Macy as James Gordon
Genre: Drama
Year of Release: 1998
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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