Review of A Time to Kill (1996) by P3Rly D — 09 Jan 2010

Perhaps one of the original and most dramatic and powerful of vigilante justice films, this is about a black man in Mississippi who is so certain that his daughter's rapists will go free that he takes the law into his own hands.

While I'm not generally a Matthew McConaughey fan, his performance in this movie was impressive. He held his own throughout the film and, most importantly for a courtroom drama, where the movie practically hinges on the ever-dramatic closing argument, McConaughey threw a hail mary.

As with most courtroom dramas, this film stacked the deck against Samuel L. Jackson, the defendant, but it did so with a vengeance. I would have to say that, if anything, that was this film's biggest drawback.

After working so hard to make it look hopeless for Jackson's character, it was almost too much of a stretch for him to walk free. Still, when not met with that little tidbit of cynicism, it was top notch film guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes.