A TIME TO KILL
A film review by Rebecca Wan
Copyright 1996 The Flying Inkpot
Directed by: Joel Schumacher Cast: Sandra Bullock (Ellen Roark), Samuel L. Jackson (Carl Lee Hailey), Matthew McConaughey (Jake Brigance), Brenda Fricker (Ethel Twitty), Kevin Spacey (Rufus Buckley), Charles Dutton (Sheriff Ozzie Walls), Patrick McGoohan (Judge Omar Noose), Donald Sutherland (Lucien Wilbanks), Oliver Platt (Harry Rex Vonner), Ashley Judd (Carla), Kiefer Sutherland (Freddie Cobb), Devin Lloyd (Willy), Terry Loughlin (Sisco), M. Emmet Walsh (Defense Psychologist) Written by: Akiva Goldsman, John Grisham(novel) Theatres: Golden Village Theatres.
A WASTE OF TIME
Will a black man ever receive a fair trial from an all-white jury in a Southern US state? Will Sandra Bullock ever run out of hair to flick out of her eyes, and can John Grisham write a book that doesn't have the word "CONSPIRACY" flashing metaphysically across every one of its pages?
These, and other similarly urgent issues, are some of the things that will fascinate in A TIME TO KILL, the latest book-turned-movie from John "It's just you the reader and me the hero against the FBI, the entire American judicial system, and the Darn Way Things Just Are" Grisham.
In poverty-baked Missisippi, a tiny, sweet black girl is tortured, raped and left to die by a group of racuous, evil White Boys. Arrested and waiting for trial, they are then assailed and shot point blank by the girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey, played by a glowering Samuel Johnson. Enter the (by now) much talked about Matthew McWhatisname, Mr Esquire Magazine cum Guess Jeans Good Looks, as the young, white GoodHearted lawyer friend who takes on Hailey's defence, Jake Brigance.
Throw in Kevin Spacey as the dead confident prosecutor with a shakey Southern accent (if Sandra Bullock puts in the only believable performance of the whole cast, it must surely be because she doesn't have to Sound Southern), Donald Sutherland as Brigance's mostly drunk now but previously brilliant mentor, a mean, twisted Keifer Sutherland as the rapist's brother who's main purpose in the story is to Make Sure There's Trouble, and a burly, amoral Oliver Platt as Brigance's oily, wise-cracking sidekick for good measure, and you pretty much have the whole story. For extra insurance, the film's makers have thrown in the darkly beautiful Sandra Bullock in the role of, in her own words, "brilliant law student," who rushes down for the summer to help Brigance with his case.
Finally there's Ashley Judd, Brigance's young wife, whose main job seems to be walking around the Brigance's new house in tank tops and sweating a lot, and his achingly cute blonde daughter. Both comprise a nice White parallel to the Black Hailey's own loving family, and form the empathic comaparison between the successful Brigance and the misfortunate Hailey. One of Brigance's main concerns is that if he were Hailey, he would have done exactly what he did.
If I seem preoccupied with identifying "character types" and Plot Structures, it's only because that's how the movie seemed to work the whole time. While most of the characters were nicely etched out and the script is generally well-written, I got the feeling that the movie was more interested in presenting issues to its audience than actually working them out. For example, there are the scarey KKK scenes that bring out the powerful weirdness and danger of racism, but that don't seem to amount to anything in the conclusion, the will-they-won't-they thing between Bullock and McConnaughy that abruptly concludes without one iota of resolution, and the this-case-is-breaking-up-my-family schtick that Brigance has to go through that culminates in a scene that I can only describe as surreal.
In the end, although there are a lot of things going on in A TIME TO KILL, nothing really happens. The film is hardly a courtroom thriller, because McConaughey spends more time arguing with his wife, drinking tequila with Bullock, and taking long meadow walks with Sutherland than actually preparing for, or even doing anything, in court. His final courtroom summation is feeble and maudlin, and cannot convince an audience well-versed in the verbal maneuvering of David Kelley drama series (Picket Fences and L.A. Law), or even previous courtroom movies that turn on racial or social issues like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or MURDER IN THE FIRST.
Conclusion: although somewhat interesting, I didn't think this movie was worth $7.
The Flying Inkpot Rating System: * Wait for the TV2 broadcast. ** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha! *** Pretty good, bring a friend. **** Amazing, potent stuff. ***** Perfection. See it twice.
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