10-year-old Mississippi girl Tonya Hailey is viciously raped by rednecks James Louis Willard and Billy Ray Cobb. They are taken into custody by Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton), but the girl's father Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes matters into his own hands killing both men and wounding a police officer. Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) knows Carl and takes on his defense. Kevin Spacey plays D.A. Rufus Buckley, and Donald Sutherland is Jake's drunken partner Lucien Wilbanks. Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland) leads a local rebirth of the KKK. Law student Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock) offers to help Jake.
It's a John Grisham novel directed by Joel Schumacher. It's a lot of drama with very little tension. None of these characters especially Carl is worth our sympathies. Also there are a lot of ridiculous things like Carl visiting the injured cop in the hospital. It would never happen like that. It would help out Carl's character if the cop didn't get in the line of fire. It would clean up the morality mess and line up the ethical question better. It would also help to have Carl exhibit some mental problems so the insanity defense has some purchase.
The story is hitting all the big stereotypes, and plays every race card. It's overwrought when it's unnecessary. There is no cross unburnt. There is no hood unworn. The NAACP is corrupt. And with so many big Hollywood actors, a lot of this feels fake. This is not a subtle movie. Then there is the ending. I cannot abide by it no matter how it's argued. But even if I agree, the closing argument by Jake was just hitting all the wrong notes.
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