A time to kill is an intense and legal thriller film following an idealistic white lawyer who defends a Black father on trial.
In Canton, Mississippi, a ten year old Tonya Hailey is brutally abducted, raped and nearly killed by two racist drifters. Her father, Carl Lee Hailey , loses faith that the judicial system will punish the men due to racial prejudice.
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Convinced the assailants will walk free, Carl Lee goes to the country courthouse with an automatic rifle and fatally shoots both men, unintentionally crippling a deputy in the process.
Carl Lee is arrested and charged with murder.
He seeks out Jake Brigance, an inexperienced but principled white defense attorney. The case becomes a massive media spectacle, attracting an ambitious district attorney seeking the death penalty. As the trail progressed, the Ku Klux Klan mobilised, burning a cross on Brigance’s lawn and terrorizing his family to force him off the case of. Despite these dangers and mounting personal costs, Brigance is assisted by his disbarred mentor and an idealistic Boston law student.
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The trial appears lost as the judge shows bias and the jury is predominantly white. In a powerful closing argument, Brigance asks the jury to close their eyes and listen to the horrific details of the crime. He then delivers his most famous line. “Now imagine she’s white”.
This plea forced the jury to confront their own biases. Ultimately, the jury acquits Carl Lee on the grounds of temporary insanity Audible.
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Brenda Fricker
Running time: 149 minutes
Watch movie trailer here:
