![]() Jackson simply doesn’t get the credit he deserves for actually being a pretty well rounded and versatile actor. Quick Side note while we’re talking about performances: Samuel L. Add a drunken Donald Sutherland, a villainous Kiefer Sutherland (I know he’s Jack Bauer but no one really does REALLY bad quite like Keifer) and of course the charming, joke cracking, southern hospitality of Oliver Platt and you’ve got yourself a solid watch even if you don’t necessarily have a great movie. Likewise, Sandra Bullock is about as Sandy B as you can get, with her performance screaming the greatest hits of what makes her such a Hollywood darling. He’s charming and enduring, and while the material may not do him too many favors, McConaughey proves that he is a legitimate actor capable of a lot of range and depth. Forget all of his romcom efforts, McConaughey THRIVES as a hotshot lawyer pretty much always, with “ A Time to Kill” and “ The Lincoln Lawyer” being prime examples of just how comfortable he is in this type of role. I’m not saying someones skill outweighs any of their accusations, but for the simple sake of critiquing this film and ONLY this film, Spacey is fantastic here as the the ruthless, unforgiving DA trying the case.Įveryone does incredible here, with McConaughey cementing himself as one of the best cast protagonist lawyers in any courtroom drama out there. Look, Spacey may be a controversial figure behind the camera, one who has some dark skeletons in his closet that came to light in the worst of ways, but in front of the camera it’s hard to deny his skill. ![]() Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt (the MVP of supporting casts), Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, and of course, Kevin Spacey. ![]() Luckily, we have people like Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. It simply deals with subject matter that doesn’t translate across the world racism and prejudice and legal loopholes and injustice exist globally, but “ A Time to Kill” highlights just how American those issues are by essentially Americanizing them through every lens possible. Seriously, Europe HATED this film, having reaction of out right disdain and even hyperbolic vomiting over the films content and conclusions. Without the top notch cast firing on all cylinders, even American audiences would be as disturbed as many of the foreign ones. The film paints in broad strokes, and while it isn’t necessarily short on emotion, it only appears to be deeper than it really is. The problem is that while none of these are above criticism and deserve hard, deep critiques, and examinations of their proceedings, it still only scratches the surface of what’s really being discussed, and essentially reaches the conclusion that revenge is fine as long as its in response to racism. It’s hard to really properly portray a film about a black man who exacts revenge on the white men who raped his daughter and feels justified for doing so because racism is the driving force within the legal system. It simply falls short of capturing or properly depicting the nuances and complexity of the issues the drive the story forward. That’s not say “ A Time to Kill” is a bad movie it isn’t. A TIME TO KILL, Matthew McConaughey, 1996 It glamorizes the worst of American culture, and reaches unsettling conclusions through over the top sentimentality. Internationally, it fails to resonate with most viewers, as the types of systemic racism, gun violence, death penalty and justified vigilantism depicted can only be understood by solely American audiences. ![]() The film becomes somewhat of a definitive American film and not in a complimentary way. Any film that tries to tackle and solve racism in a span of 2 hours has its work cut out for it, and “ A Time to Kill” is elevated more by its performances that it is with the story that’s being told. The film may be a little too cliche and simple for its own good, but it nevertheless touches (or at least attempts to touch) on the very things that still plague America today. “ A Time to Kill” somehow manages to date itself with its broad sentimentality of deeper systemic issues while also somehow remaining rather timely dealing with those very same issues as we view them today. This is perhaps the most irreverent and relevant film that celebrates its 25th birthday I’ve done so far. ![]()
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