John Grisham inspired films usually end up scoring big with me, even if they can at times be boched by lazy screenwriting or sub-par perfomances. Here we are working with a very rich novel. Girhsam has cited Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird as an influence and it really does strike some resemblance although the movie ends up being a striking tale of it's own.
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) and director Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, The Lost Boys) put this together and did a very fine job indeed. I have not read the novel so I cannot say how true to the original they kept it but most of the characters come fleshed out like real people with many different sides of them. I have seen the film being put down by many a critic and casual viewer accusing it of not doing well enough job of portraying racial tensions Grisham and exploiting without understanding them. That may all be true, as a white boy born and bred in a small village in east Iceland where every single person was white it is impossible for me to know, but I will surely take the time now to properly educate myself on the topic as best as I can. As a movie though, the piece is very gripping. We get stellar perfomances from most of the crew. With Matthew Mcconaughey, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Cooper riding somewhat above. The script gets a little clunky when dealing with some the racist red-necks. It does also sting the ear somewhat to hear non-south born actors try to contrive a southern accent - sometimes it works but a few times it draws you out of the movie.
All in all a gripping movie that makes one question one's place in society and history and re-evaluate ones privilege and freedom.
4/5.
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) and director Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, The Lost Boys) put this together and did a very fine job indeed. I have not read the novel so I cannot say how true to the original they kept it but most of the characters come fleshed out like real people with many different sides of them. I have seen the film being put down by many a critic and casual viewer accusing it of not doing well enough job of portraying racial tensions Grisham and exploiting without understanding them. That may all be true, as a white boy born and bred in a small village in east Iceland where every single person was white it is impossible for me to know, but I will surely take the time now to properly educate myself on the topic as best as I can. As a movie though, the piece is very gripping. We get stellar perfomances from most of the crew. With Matthew Mcconaughey, Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Cooper riding somewhat above. The script gets a little clunky when dealing with some the racist red-necks. It does also sting the ear somewhat to hear non-south born actors try to contrive a southern accent - sometimes it works but a few times it draws you out of the movie.
All in all a gripping movie that makes one question one's place in society and history and re-evaluate ones privilege and freedom.
4/5.
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