A Time to Kill

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A Time to Kill

R

1996

2h 30m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) is a heartbroken black father who avenges his daughter's brutal rape by shooting the bigoted men responsible for the crime as they are on their way to trial. He turns to Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), an untested lawyer, to defend him. Brigance struggles to believe that he can get Hailey acquitted in this small, segregated Southern town, given Hailey's race and the deliberate nature of his crimes, but Carl has unshakable faith in him.

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Critics 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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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

In order to enjoy this mediocre John Grisham courtroom drama, labeled as top-notch entertainment by many of my colleagues, you have to accept an ersatz, cartoonish version of the deep south...

Jun 14, 2022

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Chris Peachment

Daily Telegraph (UK)

(Grisham) films are... grossly over-inflated examples of that old genre which hardly ever need change, the courtroom drama. A Time To Kill is no different, except that its verdict would be laughed out of any court anywhere in the civilised world.

Nov 29, 2017

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

The performances are strong, the issues provocative.

Rated: B-

Sep 1, 2022

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

There is a lot in here that is effective, and plenty that works. There is simply also a lot that doesn’t.

Rated: 6/10

Jul 3, 2022

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a slow-moving yet mostly engrossing drama...

Rated: 3/4

Jun 13, 2021

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Fabrícia F

Conflitos sobre moralidade e justiça sempre são bem vindos e esse roteiro retrata com excelência a questão.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

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Don T

One of the classics. How anyone can give this less than that is a mystery to me.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

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Thomas R

While it does struggle to reach the same quality as the novel, A Time to Kill still manages to keep viewers on the edge of their seat from beginning to end with likable characters and an interesting story

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/17/24

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mark g

I have every book John Grisham has ever written. I love the guy. That being said, this was his first novel and by far his weakest. So, the movie had some hurdles. Well, the movie takes a decent at best book and makes a ridiculous cartoon of a movie. Just silly caricatures and characters that are either all good or all bad. The unrealistic nature of this film makes it almost an unintended comedy.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/04/24

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Brian G

This is one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while from a major studio with a lot of great talent in it. The story manages to be both totally predictable and still not make any sense whatsoever. There’s a lot of great acting ability there, but they can only do so much with a tepid script like this. I really don’t know why all these wonderful actors signed up for this piece of hooey.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/24/24

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D F

can connect with the people, emotional

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/19/24

Full Review

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Joel Schumacher

Director

Sandra Bullock

Ellen Roark

Samuel L. Jackson

Carl Lee Hailey

Matthew McConaughey

Jake Tyler Brigance

Kevin Spacey

D.A. Rufus Buckley

Brenda Fricker

Ethel Twitty

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Synopsis

Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) is a heartbroken black father who avenges his daughter's brutal rape by shooting the bigoted men responsible for the crime as they are on their way to trial. He turns to Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), an untested lawyer, to defend him. Brigance struggles to believe that he can get Hailey acquitted in this small, segregated Southern town, given Hailey's race and the deliberate nature of his crimes, but Carl has unshakable faith in him.

Director: Joel Schumacher
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Michael G. Nathanson, Hunt Lowry, John Grisham
Screenwriter: Akiva Goldsman
Production Co: Regency Enterprises
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 12, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $108.7M
Runtime: 2h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround

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