A Civil Action

A Civil Action

A Civil Action

A Civil Action

John Travolta,(Jon Schlichtmann),"Basic",'03, plays a lawyer who follows police and fire trucks looking for accident victims and makes a fortune as a very successful lawyer. However, he goes to a very small town and finds that the people are having trouble with their drinking water and from then on his entire life is changed. Jon decides to become a Robin Hood and come to the aid of the small town folks and get to the TRUTH of the matter, no matter what it COSTS! There are lots of court battles and Robert Duvall,(Jerome Facher),"Open Range",'03, plays a wise old owl of a lawyer who prefers to eat his lunch in a quite spot with no one around him and tries to teach Jon Schlichtmann as if he was one of the law students. John Travolta and Robert Duvall give great performances and it is a worthwhile film to view.

*** Spoiler Alert *** I saw this movie when it came out, thought it looked great. Then I saw it. Must have been a hundred still shots of a glass of water. Yeah, after the first couple, I got the point. Then the end. Sitting in the theater, and reading the messages on the screen that describe what happens later, without resolving ANYTHING, I just said "WHAT?!?!" and "I can't believe I just wasted 2 hours and $15 on this." out loud in the theater. I wasn't alone. If you want to see something like this, only much better. See Erin Brockovich.

Engrossing drama about a slick lawyer (Travolta) who takes on a civil case involving the death of eight children from leukimia after toxic chemicals were dumped into the water supply in a small Massachusetts town. Taken at first for the glory, but when the case becomes a issue worth fighting for, the lawyer learns more about humanity and passion than he ever knew. Startling film under the direction of Steven Zallian with standout performances from Duvall, scene stealing as Travolta's pompous courtroom adversary and Macy, razor sharp as always, as financial advisor at Travolta's firm.

A wonderful, beautiful book made into an equally good movie. Wonderful acting from Travolta, Macy, Duvall, Lithgow, Gandolfini, and the brilliant Kathleen Quinlan. Jan Schlichtmann is not a sensible, prudent, or very likable person. He is arrogant, reckless, greedy, ambitious, and brusque. Buried in there is a social conscience, however. This is a story about how a very flawed person--a real person--does the right thing. In doing so he ruins himself financially and takes a lot of people with him--his partners and friends. He does prevail. Do the injured parents thank him? No. Their grief is still so immense that they cannot be thankful even to these men who have really given them their all. The scene with James Gandolfini sitting at the table with his wife and eight children is one of my favorites in any movie. He is another person who suddenly realizes that, no matter what it costs him, he has to do what is right. Although the good guys win it is not an altogether happy story--there are the parents of dead kids and the ruined careers--but it is unforgettable and it is real. At the end, Schlichtmann says he would do it again if he had it to do over. This is what real heroes are like, in the real world. They do not always get thanks and a medal, but they do things for all of us anyway.

Starting the film as the traditional stereotypical lowlife lawyer, John Travolta is actually superb as his character develops into someone who actually cares about his clients, and about people other than himself. Robert Duvall is excellent as his opposing counsel, and his character's interplay in the courtroom drama with Travolta is worth seeing the film for alone. Duvall plays quirky characters like few else in modern cinema. Given the job of prosecuting a tannery over water pollution that has led to the death of many children, this is well written and structured - as well as being brilliantly acted and well directed. The one complaint I would have is that this petered out a little in the finish, which was perhaps inevitable as it's a true story, and sometimes the climax of real life isn't as good as in fiction.

As far as courtroom dramas go, this is by no means great. I've seen plenty of them, as American law system interests me. The greatest would arguably be A Few Good Men... this is pretty much in the order end of the spectrum, being a fairly slight courtroom drama. It has just enough good points to it to keep it above average, but only *just* enough. I think the way the story was told was fairly standard, but good anyway. I liked Travolta's voice-overs, and liked the fact that it's not the typical cliché-like ending, where, against all odds, the case is won. I won't tell you exactly how it ends, but the ending is pretty good, and not as predictable as many of the courtroom dramas are. The plot is good, and develops, at least in the beginning, pretty good, and with a good pace. However, somewhere in the last half, the pace drops and you find yourself being bored with the film. Too bad, since it started out so promising. The acting is very good; Duvall and Travolta are obviously good, but Macy and Lithgow were surprisingly good(not that they're typically bad, though). The supporting cast also do their jobs well. The characters are well-written, credible, and well-casted. The humor, though rare in the film, is mostly good. All in all, a pretty good courtroom drama, based on a true story, and a basic story of inexperienced against experienced, as they say in the featurette on the DVD. I recommend it to fans of courtroom dramas, and fans of any of the actors. 7/10

Personal injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann is approached by a group of families who believe they are being poisoned by a toxic waste dump near their water supply as many of their children have developed leukemia. Two of America's biggest law firms defend the case which stretches over 9 years and threatens to bankrupt Schlichtmann's firm and all it's staff. I approached this film with firm expectations. I work as an environmental consultant and in part of my law training I was advised to read the book as it was a good case study (albeit a 500 page case study) on a environmental case. The book was fascinating if a little heavy in detail. For the film I knew that much of it was going to be trimmed but I didn't realize how much. The `trimmed' bit is the whole case! There is none of the trial instead any court room scenes are more focused on the characters than the case. As a film this still plays well and is entertaining if not enlightening or interesting. It still carries the mantle of being `true' but without any of the book's case detail it is never more than a Grisham-esque drama despite having a better ending. The cast are great – easily turning out for a worthy film and they are rewarded because the characters get much better treatment than the facts. Travolta does well but doesn't manage to be as real as the book's portrayal of Schlichtmann. Duvall is good while the rest of the cast are very much support but manage to be deep. When names like William H Macy, Shalhoub, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, Stephen Fry, Dan Hedaya and James Gandolfini are all in support then you rightly expect it to be a very worthy film. Overall this is a good film that is entertaining. There is a more powerful, more interesting and moving captivating story at it's heart – anyone wanting that story should read the book.