Thanks for the memories!

Lack of good storyline.

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Another reviewer on this board made a comparison of the film with "To Kill a Mockingbird", and although the same thought came to me while watching it, the similarity is never fully realized. In the earlier movie, a black man was found guilty of raping a white woman, and the stereotype of redneck Southern justice is essentially carried out. The better comparison I think, can be made with another film I just recently viewed, that being "Sleepers", in which a pair of thugs murder a former reform school guard who physically abused them while they were in their teens. The whole idea of social justice is stood on it's head in both films, and if the thought behind each movie is to make viewers feel conflicted about their outcomes, then they both succeeded. Just like Gregory Peck's character in 'Mockingbird', Jake Brigance approached his job via a one on one relationship with the accused, a man who's ability to reason is shattered when his ten year old daughter is assaulted and raped by the side of the road, and left to die when a couple of degenerates decide to partake in some demented version of what they consider fun. However the character who perhaps straddles the line best between blacks and whites in the story is Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton), a black man who has the same keen sense of justice as does Brigance. He's unafraid to arrest the guilty perpetrators of the horrible rape of the ten year old Tonya Hailey (RaéVen Kelly), nor is he troubled about taking her father (Samuel L. Jackson) into custody for the shooting at the courthouse. I had the sense that he was a well respected man of Canton who saw his job as color blind in the eyes of the law.In a way, the picture's most defining moment might have been saved for the very final scene. Following Carl Lee Hailey's (Jackson) impassioned dialog with his lawyer, one which inspired Jake Brigance to revamp his closing argument, we see Brigance and his family arrive at the Hailey home, as jubilant neighbors celebrate the acquittal. Taking to heart what it means to be truly accepting of others different from themselves, Jake confidently comes to terms with Carl Lee's persuasive suggestion by stating, "Just thought our kids could play together".

This movie deserves 5/10. That's the maximum you could give. So many flaws in this movie which are very obvious through out the entire film. If you want to take a movie to condemn racism there are many justified ways of doing that. This movie makes no reasonable attempt to do any such thing. The lawyer character looks so dumb and idiotic in the whole movie. May be you have to read the book to understand what the hell is this all about. All big shots who acted in this movie will feel shameful if they watch this movie again now!

This film is full of main screen actors, and features some very powerful roles based from the book. Samuel L Jackson is superb along with a very strong performance from Mathew McConaughey. The film keeps you guessing and is a definite must for anyone looking for a great thriller. One of my all time favourites.

A young lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) defends a black man (Sam Jackson) accused of murdering two men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.Obviously you have a good story here with the race relations, the KKK and the inexperienced white lawyer defending the unpopular black man (who may have been justified in his homicide). We have a very impressive cast, with everyone in here from Kevin Spacey to Chris Cooper to Oliver Platt. We even have Sandra Bullock, who seems to be the weakest link (acting like she is in a romantic comedy rather than a serious court drama).Actually, yeah, cut out all the Bullock scenes and this could be one of the best films ever made.