A Time to Kill

IMDb RATING
7.5/10
198K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
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Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and RaéVen Kelly in A Time to Kill (1996)
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A young Mississippi lawyer defends a black man who killed the two white men that raped his preteen daughter.A young Mississippi lawyer defends a black man who killed the two white men that raped his preteen daughter.A young Mississippi lawyer defends a black man who killed the two white men that raped his preteen daughter.

    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 12 nominations total

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    Featured reviews

    Pretty Strong.

    A truly tense film that takes place in present-day Mississippi. A young African-American girl has been raped by two backwoods white men. Her father (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands and kills the two. Now the small town becomes a hot-bed of controversy as a murder trial starts that gets national attention. There is the defense attorney (Matthew McConaughey) and his bright-eyed assistant (Sandra Bullock) against prosecutor supreme Kevin Spacey. A really solid film that works because of a screenplay that pulls no punches and revolutionary direction by Joel Schumacher. A great ensemble cast all excel here and the film captures a place that has turned into a media circus very well. A film that you will watch with clenched fists. An intense experience. 4 stars out of 5.

    Still Raising More Questions Than Answers...

    ... and when you cascade politics, religion and justice into the cauldron and catalyse them with a culture that, like all cultures, struggles to shake off its generational prejudices, you're left with a hate that's as tough to eradicate as the common cold. Some fine performances all round and quite a spectacular list of actors milling around and in the courthouse. The saddest part for me is that watching it over 25 years after reading the book I've become too accepting that the world is incapable of recognising what the true cause of prejudice is because those we elect to authority really don't want to empower and uplift those who enter the world considerably less well off than the rest.

    Very well done

    I'm not sure why I didn't see this film when it came out, but I watched it for the first time last week and was blown away. "A time to kill" is not only very well done, but it shows the way racism is dealt with in an intertesting way. Every character is not only well developed, but the actors playing them make it totally believable.

    Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson, who remain two of the finest American actors are definetly one of the best parts of the film. I'm not really sure how this film was received when it was released, but I consider it to be one of the most well done films I've seen recently.

    Verdict - (in)sane

    Accused of ... actually if there is one thing that is obvious is what someone is accused of here ... not just anyone. But while this is fast paced and has a lot of things happening from the get go, I will not go into too much of the story. But boy does this movie have an all star cast or what? The answer is yes, in case you are wondering.

    And while some may feel a bit .. let's say weird about the way justice is being served here (pun intended), the movie is gripping from start to finish. It also is not something the faint of hearted should watch! Especially the beginning (and first inciting incident) really packs a punch .. and it is something that unfortunately still exist in our world! I don't think certain things will go away ... at least not as long as I'm alive (racism being one of them).

    Rare gem movie!

    From this film, I learned who Matthew McConaughey is.

    This film was the first film I've watched him, and oh boy, I liked him so much.

    Very emotional film, very hard, strike on the face.

    Amazing performance from all the actors, but Matthew McConaughey was incredibly amazing!

    His last speach in the court before the judge's decision, was... one of the best I ever watched and heard.

    A must-see film!

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    Did you know

    • Trivia
      Matthew McConaughey auditioned for the role of Freddie Lee Cobb. After reading the script, he preferred the role of Jake Brigance but didn't think they would cast him due to his experience level. He went to directorJoel Schumacher, who granted him a private screentest.
    • Goofs
      When Jake calls Max after the fire, Max tries to run past him, apparently toward the off-screen dog wrangler.
    • Quotes

      Jake Tyler Brigance:[in his summation, talking about Tonya Hailey]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.

    • Alternate versions
      The first name of the Jake Brigance character becomes ''Jack'' Brigance in the Italian version.

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    Details

    Box office

    • Budget
      • $40,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $108,766,007
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,823,159
      • Jul 28, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $152,266,007

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