A Civil Action
Justice Has Its Price.
John Travolta gives another brilliant performance in a suspenseful true story that's been praised as the greatest legal thriller of all time! Jan Schlichtmann is a cynical, high-priced personal injury attorney who only takes big-money cases he can safely settle out of court. Though his latest case at first appears straightforward, Schlichtmann soon becomes entangled in an epic legal battle...one where he's willing to put his career, reputation and all that he owns on the line for the rights of his clients! Also featuring Robert Duvall, William H. Macy and John Lithgow - this gripping, widely acclaimed hit delivers edge-of-you-seat entertainment!
Member Reviews
Well-acted and well-intentioned, but as dull and dry as a real-life court case. - moviemonger
Interesting yet unexciting court-battle drama features Travolta in prime form as John Travolta, Duvall in one of his better supporting roles, and an unsatisfying ending which leaves you dispassionately shrugging your shoulders at best. This movie is a highbrow affair for people who 1) enjoy lawyer movies 2) don't require any action in their films and 3) don't mind a "realistic" ending and appreciate good actors. I personally found it to be quite humdrum, and even a little boring at times. Kinda had me wishing for a fistfight or something, one which, unfortunately for me, never materialized. The plot is well developed, as is the execution of the film, but the missing link seemed to be the emotional attachment to the film or any of its characters. This seemed to be non-existent for me. Travolta's cold performance may have been the reason. Or maybe the lack of tension or real suspense. Not sure. All's I know is that the film had a superb idiosyncratic performance by Bobby Duvall, some interesting law factoids, and enough stars to agreeably allow me to weather its two-hour runtime, all without wowing me over. All in all, a mediocre fabrication of law-cinema, offering some points of interest, no real action, and a weak ending, which applauds the hard work and genuine nature of some lawyers out there, while belaboring a few of the justice system's systemic imperfections.An interesting glimpse into a kind of law usually left out of movies - Superdave
Personal injury lawyers are often thought of as ambulance chasers for good reason - they take cases based on the wealth of the opponent and their ability to avoid getting the case thrown out rather than on its legitimate legal merits, and Travolta's character is a very successful one. His credo is that any lawyer who goes to court has failed, since his job is to settle OUT of court. The first half hour of the film sets up this world of nuisance litigation with a series of brilliant speeches that have the viewer off-center from the usual idealistic young lawyer trying to right wrongs nonsense so prevalent in legal dramas and so missing here. Yet, slowly we watch successful attorney Jan Schlichtmann (Travolta), as he pursues a big company accused of dumping chemicals, slowly evolve INTO the kind of legal crusader we have seen so often seen before, and this way some otherwise familiar courtroom drama takes on a fresh edge and provides greater interest that it otherwise might. And since the drama is based on a true story, it takes some surprising turns especially toward the end, as life often does and Hollywood does less often. An excellent script achievement and a very good resulting film.A Look At The World Of Personal Injury Law - revsdd
John Travolta was pretty good here as Jan Schlictmann, a personal injury lawyer who, unenthusiastically takes on a case involving environmental contamination that has caused several children to die of leukemia. He takes it on because he discovers that there are two huge corporations he could get money from, and that's one moral of the story: personal injury law is less about the victims and more about money.The opening of the movie establishes that, as Schlictmann describes who the preferred victims are, based on how much money you can expect to make off them, and children are at the bottom of the list. Schlictmann belongs to a small firm that doesn't accept cases they can't win, since that's how they get paid. The whole point is to avoid trials and get settlements. Then Schlictmann loses his "perspective." He starts to care about the victims, and faced with contempt from the big law firms he's going up against, he decides he has to prove himself. The result is disaster. The firm and all the partners go broke, even after a settlement is made, because what they get doesn't come close to covering their costs, and the families are disappointed because they didn't really care about money - they wanted an apology and a clean-up.
Although not especially exciting, the movie is well-paced and interesting, and includes a solid supporting cast. The end is a bit anti-climactic, in that, I really wanted Schlictmann to win. Instead, he ends up destitute - left with $14 and a portable radio. He turns his files over to the EPA, who do take the case on - and win - but Schlictmann is long gone by the time that happens. Since this was a true story, it was nice to see the companies forced to pay up, and uplifting to learn that Schlictmann switched from personal injury law to environmental law. And, as much as I wanted him to succeed in this case in the end, it is a true story, so the end was what it was. A pretty good movie all in all.
Member Reviews
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Well-acted and well-intentioned, but as dull and dry as a real-life court case. - moviemonger
Interesting yet unexciting court-battle drama features Travolta in prime form as John Travolta, Duvall in one of his better supporting roles, and an unsatisfying ending which leaves you dispassionately shrugging your shoulders at best. This movie is a highbrow ...An interesting glimpse into a kind of law usually left out of movies - Superdave
Personal injury lawyers are often thought of as ambulance chasers for good reason - they take cases based on the wealth of the opponent and their ability to avoid getting the case thrown out rather than on its legitimate legal merits, and Travolta's character ...A Look At The World Of Personal Injury Law - revsdd
John Travolta was pretty good here as Jan Schlictmann, a personal injury lawyer who, unenthusiastically takes on a case involving environmental contamination that has caused several children to die of leukemia. He takes it on because he discovers that there ...