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A Civil Action (1998)
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Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:5
Rotten:6
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Intelligent and unconventional.
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious young lawyer, is confronted with the litigation of a lifetime in this unbelievable real-life story. Several families in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts, have... Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious young lawyer, is confronted with the litigation of a lifetime in this unbelievable real-life story. Several families in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts, have suffered the tragic losses of their children to the rare cancer known as leukemia. After having their claim rejected by most law firms in town, these citizens approach Schlichtmann with the possibility that the deaths of their children may have had to do with Woburn's drinking water supply being contaminated by a couple of local businesses. The rub lies in the fact that these businesses are offshoots of two of the most powerful national corporations in the country! Schlichtmann must push his skill and craftiness as a lawyer to the limit in order to oust his opponents, who are working with a limitless bankroll. Based on the great fact-based novel. [More]
Starring: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Stephen Fry, James Gandolfini
Starring: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Stephen Fry, James Gandolfini, Dan Hedaya, Zeljko Ivanek, John Lithgow, William H. Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, Tony Shalhoub, Sydney Pollack, Mary Mara, David Thornton, Ned Eisenberg, Paul Ben-Victor, Daniel Von Bargen, Margot Rose, Michael Byrne, Tracy Miller, Paul Hewitt, Clayton Landey, Alan Wilder, Josh Pais, Haskell V. Anderson, Kaiulani Lee, Denise Y. Dowse, Robert Cicchini, Kevin Fry, Brian Turk, David Barrett, Ryan Janis, Gene Wolande, Juli Donald, John Lafayette, Charles Levin, Jay Patterson
Director: Steven Zaillian
Director: Steven Zaillian
Story: Jonathan Harr
Producer: Robert Redford, Rachel Pfeffer, Scott Rudin
Composer: Danny Elfman
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Reviews for A Civil Action
As proficient a job as writer-director Steve Zaillian and his team do, A Civil Action has unmistakably unraveled by its close.
Millions of people read Harr's gripping bestseller, but Steven Zaillian may be the only one who didn't understand it.
A slick, shameless job that takes way too long to make its point (namely, we need the EPA).
Zaillian managed to surprise me by crafting a courtroom drama which is sufficiently different and thought-provoking that I can recommend it with a clear conscience.
The story presents both Schlichtmann and the civil court system as stubbornly complicated. And it tells a finely nuanced tale of right, wrong and the gray area in between.
Travolta captures the complexity of a man whose motives for doing good have as much to do with vanity as anything else.
Schlichtmann may have gone through this conversion in real life, but I just didn't buy it the way Zaillian presents it.
I'm all for films that don't flow from the usual Hollywood test tubes, but A Civil Action is basically the standard formula with a dash of downbeat.
Latest News for A Civil Action
September 10, 2006:
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