A Time to Kill (1996)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Overlong and superficial, A Time to Kill nonetheless succeeds on the strength of its skillful craftsmanship and top-notch performances.
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Cast
as Carl Lee
as Ellen Roark
as Jake Brigance
as Deputy Looney
as Dr. Willard Tyrell Bass
as Lucien Wilbanks
as Harry Rex Vonner
as Judge Omar Noose
as Freddie Cobb
as Rufus Buckley
as Carla Brigance
as Ethel Twitty
as Sheriff Ozzie Walls
as Reverend Isaiah Street
as Stup Sisson
as Tim Nunley
as Billy Ray Cobb
as Dr. Rodeheaver
as Cora Cobb
as Tonya Hailey
as Klansman
as Pete Willard
as Deputy Tatum
as Dell
as Roark's Nurse
as Bud Twitty
as Fire Chief
as Male Juror
as Woman Angry at Klan
as Klan Bomber
as Man in Lumberyard
as Reverend Ollie Agee
as Gwen Hailey
as Hannah Brigance
as Brent Musgrove
as Jury Foreman
as Taylor
as Claude
as Reluctant Male Juror
as Deputy Hastings
as Young Fisherman
as Norman Reinfield
as Buckley's Secretary
as Winston
as Deputy
as Tom Hardy
as Electrical Company Worker
as Bailiff
as Blonde Woman Juror
as Administrator at Whitfield
as Skip Hailey
as Slim Hailey
as Willie Hailey
as Joe Frank Perryman
as Militant Teenager
as Looney's Son
as Looney's Wife
as Waitress at Claude's
as Customer at Claude's
as Guardsman Mackenvale
as Sarah Hardy
as Reverend Fink
as Noose's Butler
as Noose's Housekeeper
as Minister
as TV Anchor
as Old Man Bates
as Fisherman
as Old Fisherman
as Sugar
as Court Deputy
as NAACP Woman
as NAACP Man No. 1
as NAACP Man No. 2
as Reporter No. 1 with Hastings
as Reporter No. 1 with Jake
as Reporter No. 1 with Buckley
as Reporter No. 2 with Buckley
as Reporter No. 3 with Buckley
as Reporter No. 2 with Jake
as Woman at Rally
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Critic Reviews for A Time to Kill
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (17) | DVD (1)
A likable -- maybe even lovable -- movie.
Although it has its share of implausibilities, A Time To Kill is generally the most satisfying of the John Grisham screen adaptations to date.
Justice may be blind, but rarely have courtroom dramas presumed quite so heavily on cultural myopia as this heinous version of John Grisham's first novel.
If the film doesn't add up to a cogent legal argument, neither does it have trouble delivering 2 hours and 20 minutes' worth of sturdy, highly charged drama.
Untrained as an actor, with only three minor roles to his credit, McConaughey holds the screen against Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock and Kevin Spacey, and completely justifies the buzz surrounding his role...
McConaughey, 26, is dynamite in a performance of smarts, sexiness, scrappy humor and unmistakable star sizzle.
Audience Reviews for A Time to Kill
The book must be also powerfull ,nothing left but to find out ...
Super Reviewer
This incredibly enthralling court drama tries to juggle a lot of themes at the same time and yet succeeds. Race issues in the southern US meet the question of taking law into your own hands to punish those who deserve it. The film can rely on a gripping script and a stellar cast. The dialogs, while sometimes not without stereotypes, are spot on most of the time and deliver strong scenes that demand everything from the actors. McConaughey, Jackson and Spacey all deliver. It's probably physically impossible not to be moved one way or another by the events of this film, even if you catch yourself realizing how it is playing you. The result is so well filmed and delivered that it is nothing less than one of the strongest and most exciting court dramas ever put on film.
Super Reviewer
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Charles S. Dutton, Oliver Platt, Brenda Fricker, Donald Sutherland, Ashley Judd, Tonea Stewart, John Diehl, Chris Cooper, Nicky Katt, Kurtwood Smith, Beth Grant, Joe Seneca, Anthony Heald, Alexandra Kyle, Kiefer Sutherland Director: Joel Schumacher Summary: When two white men brutally rape a young black girl in a small Mississippi town, the child's vengeful father (Samuel L. Jackson) fears their acquittal and takes the law into his own hands. But as his trial date approaches, all hell breaks loose. Aided by lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) and his spunky legal assistant (Sandra Bullock), the father fights to stay out of prison and salve his daughter's terrible memories. My Thoughts: "By far one of the best movies I have ever seen. All the performances where outstanding. Some of my favorite actors are in this movie so that was a plus. But more then anything, it was the story line that brought me to watch this movie that I have seen multiple times. The best John Grisham story put to film. The story is tragic, sickening, and intense. But inspiring as well."
Super Reviewer
A Time to Kill Quotes
| Jake Brigance: | Now Imagine She's White. |
| Carl Lee Hailey: | Yes They Deserved To Die And I Hope They Burn In Hell! |
| Jake 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! |
| Carl Lee Hailey: | Yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell!! |
| Carl Lee Hailey: | Yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in Hell! |