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A Time to Kill
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Schumacher
Produced by	Arnon Milchan John Grisham Michael Nathanson Hunt Lowry
Written by	Novel: John Grisham Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman
Starring	Sandra Bullock Matthew McConaughey Samuel L. Jackson Kevin Spacey Ashley Judd Kiefer Sutherland
Music by	Elliot Goldenthal
Cinematography	Peter Menzies, Jr.
Editing by	William Steinkamp
Studio	Regency Enterprises
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	July 24, 1996
Running time	149 min
Country	United States
Language	English

A Time to Kill is a 1996 film adaptation of John Grisham's 1989 legal thriller novel of the same name. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, and Kevin Spacey.

Set in Canton, Mississippi, the film revolves around the rape of a young girl and the subsequent arrest and murder of the rapists by the girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey. The remainder of the film then focuses on the trial of Carl Lee Hailey for murder. Upon its theatrical release, A Time to Kill was regarded as a commercial success, taking nearly $110 million at the box office.^[1]

Plot summary

Two white supremacists (Nicky Katt and Doug Hutchison) come across a 10-year-old black girl named Tonya (Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly) in rural Mississippi. They violently rape and beat Tonya and dump her in a nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her. She survives and the men are arrested. Word spreads of the brutal rape. Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson), seeks out Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), an easygoing white lawyer. Carl Lee is worried that the men may be acquitted, due to deep-seated racism in the Mississippi Delta area. Brigance admits the possibility. Hailey acquires an M16 rifle, goes to the county courthouse and opens fire, killing both rapists and unintentionally injuring Deputy Looney (Chris Cooper), with a ricochet. Carl Lee is soon arrested without resistance.

Brigance agrees to provide defense for Hailey for a much smaller amount of money than such a trial would usually require. He intends to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media attention, and the Ku Klux Klan begins to organize in the area. A brother of one of the dead rapists, Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland), calls Brigance and his family with death threats and organizes the formation of a Klan chapter in the county. The district attorney, Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey), decides to seek the death penalty. Presiding Judge Omar Noose (Patrick McGoohan) denies Jake a change of venue. Jake seeks help for his defense team from sleazy divorce lawyer and close friend Harry Rex Vonner (Oliver Platt). He seeks guidance from long-time liberal activist Lucien Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland), a once great civil rights lawyer who was disbarred for violence on a picket line. Jake's secretary, Ethel (Brenda Fricker), is wary of the racially explosive case.

Jake is approached by Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock), a fiery liberal law student from Massachusetts who belongs to the ACLU. At first Jake is reluctant to accept Ellen's cooperation, but later agrees to let Ellen help with the case. The trial begins amongst much attention from the media and public. The Klan, who has a member inside the sheriff's department, burns a cross on Jake's lawn, forcing Jake to send his wife and young daughter away while the trial continues. As the trial begins, the KKK march down Canton's streets, meeting a large group of mostly black protesters at the courthouse. Chaos ensues outside the courthouse as the police lose control of the crowd. A black teenager hits the KKK Grand Dragon (Kurtwood Smith), with a Molotov cocktail, burning him to death.

Jake's attraction to Roark grows, and they nearly begin an affair before Jake gains his wits and goes home - to find that arsonists have burned down his house. The next morning, Jake sits on the still-smoking steps of his house and meets with Harry Rex, who says it is time to quit the case. Jake refuses, saying that to quit now would make his sacrifices meaningless. When the jury secretly discusses the case in a restaurant, against the judge's instructions, all but one are leaning toward a guilty verdict, and Carl Lee's fate looks sealed. Soon after, Freddie Lee Cobb shoots at Jake as he exits the courthouse, but misses and hits a national guardsman policing the demonstrations, paralyzing him. That evening after leaving Jake's office, Roark is kidnapped by Klansmen; she is beaten, tied to a stake in the wilderness, and left to die. She is saved by an informant "Mickey Mouse", whose identity is revealed as one of the Klansmen, Tim Nunley (John Diehl), working with Cobb.

Out of options, Jake goes to see Carl Lee in his jail cell and advises accepting a lesser guilty plea. Carl Lee refuses, telling Brigance that his views on justice and race are wrong. The courthouse is packed to see the attorneys' closing arguments. Jake tells the jury to close their eyes and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the rape of a young 10-year-old girl, mirroring the story of Tonya's rape. His final comment to the jury is to tell them to imagine the victim was white. Hours later, after deliberation, an African-American child runs out of the courthouse and screams "He's innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside and the KKK become violent again. Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton) arrests Freddie Lee as well as his own racist deputy. Jake brings his wife and daughter to a family cookout at Carl Lee's house. Carl Lee is surprised and standoffish. Jake explains, "Just thought our kids could play together," and Carl Lee smiles. This is a reference to an earlier scene when Carl Lee remarks that Brigance's and his children would never play together because of their skin color.

Cast

Production notes

John Grisham has worked with director Joel Schumacher before on the film adaptation of The Client with Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. While only his book was the basis for his involvement with that film, Grisham took an active role in this film's production as a producer. The reason, as Grisham explained it, was that A Time to Kill was his first book and the favorite one out of all of his works, and he wanted to see its adaptation done to his standards.

Before the part of Jake Brigance went to Matthew McConaughey, other actors, such as Val Kilmer, John Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Aidan Quinn and Brad Pitt, were considered. Woody Harrelson had lobbied for the part and Kevin Costner was close to being cast, but Grisham axed Costner because the actor wanted complete control of the project. McConaughey was originally going to play Freddie Lee Cobb, but put his hat in the ring by speaking to Joel Schumacher and convincing him to let him audition. Schumacher videotaped the audition and decided that McConaughey was right for the part. He then approached Grisham and showed him the audition, which sold Grisham on casting him.

Bruce Dern was the original choice for the role of Judge Omar Noose. However, Patrick McGoohan was cast when Dern proved unavailable.

This movie was the second to feature both Donald Sutherland and his son Kiefer. The first was Max Dugan Returns which was the film debut of Kiefer.

Reception

Box office performance

According to Boxofficemojo.com, the movie performed well earning over $108 million domestically. Among other Grisham films, only the The Firm had a bigger box office gross.

Critical reaction

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, earning a 76% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 37 reviews,^[2] and a score of 54 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 21 reviews.^[3] James Berardinelli gave the film three stars out of four, calling it "involving, energetic, and occasionally thought-provoking".^[4] Roger Ebert also 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."^[5]

The film was not without its detractors, however. Jonathan Rosenbaum 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."^[6] 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."^[7]

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."^[8]

Awards

• Samuel L. Jackson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
• 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Award - Favorite Actress - Suspense - Sandra Bullock - Won
• 1997 MTV Movie Awards - Best Female Performance - Sandra Bullock - Nominated
• 1997 MTV Movie Awards - Best Breakthrough Performance - Matthew McConaughey - Won

See also

• A Time to Kill (soundtrack)
• Jury nullification

References

External links

• A Time to Kill at the Internet Movie Database
• A Time to Kill at Box Office Mojo

From Wikiquote

A Time to Kill is a 1996 film based on John Grisham's 1989 book A Time to Kill. The film revolves around the rape of a young girl and the arrest and assassination of the rapists by the girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey. The remainder of the film then focuses on the trial of Carl Lee Hailey for murder.

Characters

Carl Lee Hailey

• Yes, they deserved to die and I hope they burn in hell!

Jake Tyler Brigance

• I want to tell you a story. I'm going to ask you all to close your eyes while I tell you the story. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to yourselves. Go ahead. Close your eyes, please. This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. I want you to picture this little girl. Suddenly a truck races up. Two men jump out and grab her. They drag her into a nearby field and they tie her up and they rip her clothes from her body. Now they climb on. First one, then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure with a vicious thrust in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. And when they're done, after they've killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to have children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice. They start throwing full beer cans at her. They throw them so hard that it tears the flesh all the way to her bones. Then they urinate on her. Now comes the hanging. They have a rope. They tie a noose. Imagine the noose going tight around her neck and with a sudden blinding jerk she's pulled into the air and her feet and legs go kicking. They don't find the ground. The hanging branch isn't strong enough. It snaps and she falls back to the earth. So they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge. Pitch her over the edge. And she drops some thirty feet down to the creek bottom below. Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die. Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl. Now imagine she's white.

Dialogue

• D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think men who kidnap a child should be free in 10 years?
  Carl Lee Hailey: No, sir.
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think two men who rape a child should be free in 10 years?
  Carl Lee Hailey: No, sir.
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think two men who hang a child should be free in 10 years?
  Carl Lee Hailey: No.
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Well, what do you think should happen? What would be a fair sentence?
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Objection!
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think they should deserve to die?
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Don't answer that, Carl Lee!
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Do you think they should deserve to die?
  Carl Lee Hailey: Yes, they deserved to die and I hope they burn in hell!

• Jake Tyler Brigance: We're going to lose this case, Carl Lee. There are no more points of law to argue here. I want to cope a plea, maybe Buckley will cop us a second degree murder and we can get you just life in prison.
  Carl Lee Hailey: Jake, I can't do no life in prison. You got to get me off. Now if it was you on trial...
  Jake Tyler Brigance: It's not me; we're not the same, Carl Lee. The jury has to identify with the defendant. They see you, they see a yardworker; they see me, they see an attorney. I live in town, you live in the hill.
  Carl Lee Hailey: Well, you are white and I'm black. See Jake, you think just like them. That's why I picked you; you are one of them , don't you see?. Oh, you think you ain't because you eat in Claude's and you are out there trying to get me off on TV talking about black and white, but the fact is you are just like all the rest of them. When you look at me, you don't see a man, you see a black man.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Carl Lee, I'm your friend.
  Carl Lee Hailey: We ain't no friends, Jake. We are on different sides of the line, I ain't never seen you in my part of town. I bet you don't even know where I live. Our daughters, Jake; they ain't never gonna play together.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: What are you talking about?
  Carl Lee Hailey: America is a wall and you are on the other side. How's a black man ever going to get a fair trial with the enemy on the bench and in the jury box?. My life in white hands? You Jake, that's how. 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. Nigger, negro, black, African-american, no matter how you see me, you see me different, you see me like that jury sees me, you are them. Now throw out your points of law Jake. If you was on that jury, what would it take to convince you to set me free? That's how you save my ass. That's how you save us both.

• Carl Lee: Ask if he thinks I should go to jail.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Carl Lee, they amputated his leg because you shot him. He's the prosecution's witness.
  Carl Lee: You're my lawyer ain't ya? Ask him.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Your Honor, one question.
  Judge Omar Noose: Make up your mind, Mr. Brigance.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Deputy Looney, do you think Carl Lee shooting you was intentional?
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: No sir. It was an accident.
  Carl Lee: Ask him!
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Do you think he should be punished for shooting you?
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: No, sir. I hold no ill will toward the man. He did what I would have done.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: What do you mean by that?
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: I mean, I don't blame him for what he did. Those boys raped his little girl.
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Objection, your Honor! The witness's opinion on this matter is irrelevant.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Your Honor, I belive Deputy Looney has earned the right to speak here today.
  Judge Omar Noose: Overruled. Continue.
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Go ahead, Dwayne.
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: I got a little girl. Somebody rapes her, he's a dead dog. I'll blow him away just like Carl Lee did.
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Objection your Honor!
  Jake Tyler Brigance: Do you think the jury should convict Carl Lee Hailey?
  Judge Omar Noose: Don't answer that question.
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: He's a hero. You turn him loose.
  Judge Omar Noose: The jury will disregard...
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: Turn him loose!
  D.A. Rufus Buckley: Your honor, you silenced that witness!
  Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney: You turn him loose!

External links

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A Time to Kill (film)