A Time to Kill (1996)
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A white lawyer must defend a father who shot and killed the men who raped and assaulted his young daughter.
The story
In 1984 in Clanton, Mississippi, ten-year-old African-American girl Tonya Hailey is abducted, raped, and beaten by two local white men. After Tonya survives, her father, Carl Lee Hailey, seeks legal counsel from Jake Brigance, a white lawyer. When the legal process seems insufficient, Carl Lee takes matters into his own hands and shoots the perpetrators. Carl Lee is subsequently arrested, and Jake agrees to defend him. As the case gains national media attention, the prosecution seeks the death penalty, and the defense must navigate a tense legal battle and a volatile social climate in the Mississippi countryside.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1984 Mississippi, Carl Lee Hailey shoots and kills the two men who raped his daughter, Tonya. He is arrested and defended by Jake Brigance. The case becomes a national sensation, pitting the prosecution, seeking the death penalty, against a defense team facing a hostile local environment. The Ku Klux Klan, led by Stump Sisson, organizes to ensure Carl Lee's conviction, escalating tensions and violence in the community. During the trial, Jake must navigate a prejudiced jury and a series of escalating threats from the Klan, who eventually burn down his home. Despite the pressure, Jake delivers a powerful closing argument, asking the jury to imagine the crime if the victim had been white. The jury finds Carl Lee not guilty. In the aftermath, the Klan's leadership is arrested, and Jake reconciles with his family while Carl Lee finds peace.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 149
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joel Schumacher
- Writers
- Akiva Goldsman · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Sandra Bullock; Samuel L. Jackson; Matthew McConaughey; Kevin Spacey; Brenda Fricker; Oliver Platt; Charles S. Dutton; Ashley Judd; Patrick McGoohan; Donald Sutherland
- Genres
- Southern Gothic; legal drama
- Themes
- justice; racism; vigilantism
- Setting
- Clanton and surrounding areas in Mississippi, 1984.
- Premise and plot tags
- courtroom drama; legal thriller; Southern Gothic
- Source material / true-story basis
- John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, making $152 million worldwide.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 66% · scale: percentage · review count: 56; Metacritic · score: 54 · scale: 100 · review count: 21; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe · Best Supporting Actor · Nominated; NAACP Image Award · Outstanding Motion Picture · Won; NAACP Image Award · Best Supporting Actor in a film · Won; Blockbuster Entertainment Award · Favorite Actress – Suspense · Won; MTV Movie Award · Best Female Performance · Nominated; MTV Movie Award · Best Breakthrough Performance · Won; Razzie Award · Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film is the second of two films based on Grisham's novels directed by Joel Schumacher.; John Grisham sold the film rights for a record $6 million.; Sandra Bullock received $6 million for five weeks of work.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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