Film Review: A Time to Kill – 8/10

‘There ain’t nothin’ more dangerous in this world than a fool with a cause…‘

After watching little Tommy Cruise frown his way through The Firm recently, I pondered on the fact that John Grisham adaptations all seem to be pretty similar and that none of them are for me. As a man with far too much time on his hands, I decided to persevere with Grisham’s courtroom dramas, this time in the shape of the 1996 film A Time to Kill. Could this finally be the one? It’s the right decade. It’s a spectacular cast. And in the shape of Joel Schumacher, it also boasts a director capable of explosive filmmaking (although he is also responsible for Batman & Robin). And yes, I did genuinely enjoy A Time to Kill. On to The Rainmaker next…

When two white men rape a black girl and leave her for dead, the resulting fallout leads to Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) taking his own kind of vengeance. The subsequent court case rips the whole town apart with rookie lawyer Jack Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) and local advocate Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock) defending Hailey against D.A. Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey) and local Ku Klux Klan leader Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland).

Ok, so yes, this is a courtroom drama and yes it is two and a half hours long, and yes there are very few explosions or Terminators. But crucially, unlike the other Grisham adaptations I have sampled, A Time to Kill (adapted from Grisham’s first novel) is never boring and it never drags. This is partly down to Akiva Goldsman’s smart script and Schumacher’s excellent use of pacing, and partly down to a truly talented cast smashing it out of the park. This was one of McConaughey’s first major roles and he utterly nails it, offering a compelling glimpse into the leading man that he would one day become. Bullock is as likeable and effervescent as ever and Spacey reminds us why he was once one of the most respected actors in the game. This is an actor’s film, and everyone involved seems to be having a blast with what is a meaty story defined by well-drawn and captivating characters.

Considering the cast and the subject matter, it is surprising that A Time to Kill hasn’t made more of a splash in the world of pop culture. Perhaps it’s the similarities to other films in this genre (most notably To Kill a Mockingbird) but there is no doubting that as Grisham adaptations go, A Time to Kill is one of the best.

A film that deserves to be revisited.