A Time to Kill is a 1996 American crime thriller drama film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Arnon Milchan, John Grisham, Michael Nathanson and Hunt Lowry. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and is based on the novel ‘A Time to Kill‘ by John Grisham.
Rated: R (movie contains violence and some graphic language)
Run Time: 2h 29min
Release Date: July 24, 1996 (USA)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Joel Schumacher
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $40 Million
Box Office: $152 Million
A Time to Kill stars Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Charles S. Dutton, Brenda Fricker, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Patrick McGoohan, Ashley Judd, Tonea Stewart, RaeVen Kelly, Chris Cooper, John Diehl, Octavia Spencer, Anthony Heald, Alexandra Kyle, Joe Seneca and Byron Jennings.
A Time to Kill takes place in the town of Canton, Mississippi and is the story of Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson), a heartbroken black father who avenges his ten-year-old daughter Tonya’s brutal rape by shooting the two racist white men responsible for the crime. Taking the law into his own hands, he guns them down in cold blood inside the courthouse on their way to their arraignments.
Carl turns to Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), an untested struggling attorney to defend him against murder charges. 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 crime, but Carl has unshakable faith in him.
In the meantime, the Ku Klux Klan, at the prompting of one of the rapists brothers, plants burning crosses on Jake’s lawn, attempts to bomb his house and takes a shot at him because he is defending a black man who killed two white men, a not so popular position with some of the locals.
Movie Quotes
“My dad’s filthy rich, and even though we’re Irish Catholic I’m an only child. I’ve got more money than you do so I’ll work for free. No charge. A free law clerk for three weeks. I’ll do all the research, typing, answering the phone. I’ll even carry your briefcase and make the coffee.” – Ellen Roark
“I was afraid you’d want to be a law partner” – Jake Brigance
“No, I’m a woman, and I’m in the South. I know my place.” – Ellen Roark
“Yes, they deserved to die and I hope they burn in hell!” – Carl Lee Hailey
“And until we can see each other as equals, justice is never going to be even-handed. It will remain nothing more than a reflection of our own prejudices.” – Jake Brigance
“Now…imagine she’s white!” – Jake Brigance
Official Movie Trailer
Movie Stars
Matthew McConaughey as Jake Tyler Brigance
Sandra Bullock as Ellen Roark
Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey
Kevin Spacey as D.A. Rufus Buckley
Oliver Platt as Harry Rex Vonner
Charles S. Dutton as Sheriff Ozzie Walls
Brenda Fricker as Ethel Twitty
Donald Sutherland as Lucien Wilbanks
Kiefer Sutherland as Freddie Lee Cobb
Patrick McGoohan as Judge Omar Noose
Ashley Judd as Carla Brigance
Tonea Stewart as Gwen Hailey
RaeVen Kelly as Tonya Hailey
Chris Cooper as Deputy Dwayne Powell Looney
John Diehl as Tim Nunley
Octavia Spencer as Roark’s Nurse
Anthony Heald as Dr. Wilbert Rodeheaver
Alexandra Kyle as Hannah Brigance
Joe Seneca as Reverend Isaiah Street
Byron Jennings as Brent Musgrove