A Time to Kill

1996 Directed by Joel Schumacher

Experience a time you'll never forget.

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

Matthew McConaughey Sandra Bullock Samuel L. Jackson Kevin Spacey Ashley Judd Donald Sutherland Oliver Platt Charles S. Dutton Brenda Fricker Kiefer Sutherland Patrick McGoohan Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly Tonea Stewart John Diehl Chris Cooper Nicky Katt Doug Hutchison Kurtwood Smith Tim Parati Beth Grant Anthony Heald M. Emmet Walsh Octavia Spencer Darrin Mitchell LaConte McGrew Devin Lloyd Mark W. Johnson Joe Seneca Thomas Merdis Show All…

Alternative Titles

Non coupable, Aeg tappa, Tiempo de matar, On aika tappaa, Vrijeme ubijanja, Metas zudyti, Tid for hevn, Vremea razbunarii, Cas za ubijanje, Čas zabiť, Time to Kill, A

crime thriller drama

149 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by matt lynch ★½

I mean yes they deserved to die, and of course I hope they burn in Hell, but everything here is calculated to remove the nuance of any moral argument for you rather than actually reckon with systemic oppression and/or vigilantism; everyone who advocates for Jackson's character's conviction is presented as a cartoonish, hissing racist...like the fucking judge's name is Noose for heaven's sakes. There's even a "fine people on both sides" streak of bullshit wherein the NAACP is presented as a bunch of opportunists seizing on tragedy for political ends. It feels like everyone involved with the making of this movie thought they had TO KILL ANOTHER MOCKINGBIRD on their hands -- a terrible idea on its face even hypothetically…
Review by DirkH ★★★½

While it sometimes gets a bit too heavy handed for its own good, it is still a very good courtroom drama and maybe the best Grisham adaptation yet.
It manages to capture the sultry South of America fantastically. It has an oppressive, sticky feel to it that reflects and accompanies the proceedings really well.
Schumacher directs his wonderful cast really well and paces his film perfectly. Given the subject matter, he has done really well to not turn this into a cliched, cheesy affair.
Review by bethany ★★★★½ 10

"now imagine she's white."
honestly, i am truly shocked that a time to kill isn't discussed more often. matthew mcconaughey gives his career-best performance in this film, along with a stunning performance by samuel l. jackson who, without a doubt, will absolutely break your heart. there are also two really great supporting acts from sandra bullock and oliver platt, both of whom i love dearly!
the first half really grabs you by the throat and throttles you, while the second half of the film slows down and segues into a raw and tense courtroom drama (one of my favorite sub-genres) that will have you on the edge of your seat until the satisfying conclusion. a time to kill is, in my opinion, an essential viewing—until human beings are able to fully see each other as equals, justice will never be fairly served.
Review by Adam Tenbarge ★★★★★ 1

A Time To Kill.
Wow, what a phenomenal movie to watch. Especially with everything that has been going on lately. All I have to say is Matthew McConaughey deserves all the awards for one scene in particular. I couldn’t breathe the whole time during that. The actors and the story was perfect. If you have the time, this is a great film to watch especially if you like law movies. 10/10. #BLM
“Now imagine she’s white”
Review by Jacob Knight ★★★ 3

Growing up, I saw all three of the "major" John Grisham adaptations (THE FIRM, THE CLIENT, A TIME TO KILL) at the Movies at Midway - Dewey Beach, Delaware's premier junky multiplex - during separate summers. I only bring this up because it makes sense that Joel Schumacher would ostensibly make his own TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD out of Grisham's dopey beach read: a "can't we all get along" bit of late 80s racial exploitation that's the epitome of a white savior narrative. Schumacher being Schumacher, everyone involved in the trial of a vengeful, machine gun toting father of a ten-year-old rape victim is super hot and drenched in glistening sweat, while the tensions between Clanton, Mississippi's white and black…
Review by Rafael Jovine ★★★★

Everyone should calm down on the Schumacher hate, seriously, it's just misleading and it's borderline slandering.
Case in point, John Grisham's adaptation of A Time To Kill is an engrossing film from beginning to end. The chemistry between all the leads, including McCaughey and Jackson is touching and really elevates the material up to an eleven.
I'm big Grisham fan and the movie does a great job adapting the book in a way, that even though there's a sense of cheesiness here and there, by the end you find yourself invested on the story and the whole trial. The play between the humor and the drama it's greatly done.
Technically speaking, Schumacher uses enough take to give us a sense…
Review by Tentin Quarantino ★★★

Quite the cast in this one.
The Hollywood-ness bring this down a few pegs, because it's hugely exaggerated in a multitude of ways for dramatic effect, but the falseness of it prohibits the drama from being any more effective, so it's essentially all for naught.
The klan stuff was laughable when viewed today. Those fucking stupid losers would never march down the street in broad daylight and risk being exposed and having their lives turned upside-down. Bunch of cowardly white-trash hillbilly man-babies too afraid to be honest with themselves, all of them.
Review by Katherine ★★★★

"Now imagine she's white."
I don't think I've ever gasped so hard in my life. So many brilliant moments in this film and such an intense story. Glad I finally saw it.
Review by Erin 🍺 ★★★★

This was...
Really fucking tough to see. I was in tears 5 minutes into the film. It’s a fucking horrific watch and not something I would actually recommend. It’s incredibly triggering in so many ways BUT with that being said if you can prepare yourself (which I don’t think is really possible. This shit is rough) for the truly disgusting things that you will witness, it is a very well made film.
I would also just like to give a special shoutout to our favorite White Savior™ Sandra Bullock. You’re doing great sweetie!
Review by Aneesh Chaganty

“If you win this case, justice will prevail. And if you lose this case, justice will prevail. Now that is a strange case.”
I’m sure this was more morally challenging and thought provoking in the time it was released but honestly still thought the case and the drama surrounding it were SOLID and in many ways, time hasn’t changed much at all. At 2.5 hours, the movie is a breeze with an EXCELLENT performance from McConaughey (his first great one?) and one hell of a closing argument...
“Now imagine she was white.” 🤯
Review by Paul Robinson ★★★★½ 5

I have my brother to thank for pointing out this fantastic courtroom drama. It also made it into the 2nd Robinson Film Festival. (Check my lists for more info on Robinson Film Festivals)
This is the film that made me look at Matthew McConaughey as a serious actor who can pull a great performance out of the bag. This has been reinforced lately with his stellar turn in Killer Joe. In fact this film is littered with stand out performances. Jackson and Spacey both very worthy of a mention.
Gritty, intense and by far the best Grisham adaption to film. A Time To Kill is an extremely moving film that stands tall as one of the very best courtroom dramas ever made.
Review by SylvainL ★

Ah mon dieu, quel film répugnant. Il n'y a pas grand-chose qui feele plus 90s qu'un thriller judiciaire niaiseux de John Grisham, je les ai probablement tous vus et dans le temps j'aimais bien ça, alors je pensais que ça serait un peu sympathique à revisiter, un film avec un bébé Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, la précieuse Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey dans toute son arrogance et sa condescendance et tellement de character actors de l'époque qu'on trouve de la place pour deux Sutherland plutôt qu'un.
Mais en plus d'être plate et interminable, c'est un plaidoyer incroyablement malsain pour la peine de mort et le vigilantisme, qui utilise l'argument du racisme systémique pour se justifier, sans jamais examiner ledit racisme.…

Recent reviews

Review by TAHERA ★★★★½

His speech 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Review by prcttywoman ★★★

matthew sexy and his summation monologue was so powerful until.. it wasn’t
Review by Vinh Nguyen ★★★

A young lawyer defends a black man in the south.
Review by Paul O'Loughlin ★★★★

Anyone who says the "McConnaissance" began in the 2010s needs to watch this movie.
A great courtroom drama, that is quite conflicting, but told very well with really well written characters and some great performances.
Review by erica ★★★½

i’m in love with sandra bullock
Review by Tentin Quarantino ★★★

Quite the cast in this one.
The Hollywood-ness bring this down a few pegs, because it's hugely exaggerated in a multitude of ways for dramatic effect, but the falseness of it prohibits the drama from being any more effective, so it's essentially all for naught.
The klan stuff was laughable when viewed today. Those fucking stupid losers would never march down the street in broad daylight and risk being exposed and having their lives turned upside-down. Bunch of cowardly white-trash hillbilly man-babies too afraid to be honest with themselves, all of them.
Review by GoroMannina ★★★★½

Joel Schumaher finest
Review by Sebastian Gangl ★★★

I can't really stand the way how Schumacher makes his movies. Some of the characters are way too cliche, every movie of him looks like a direct to DVD movie and due to that his films don't really age well. At least every one I saw so far.
"A time to Kill" was not really bad. Yeah sure, some of the dialogue was again - really fucking stupid and the cliques were again, all over the place but I still liked it. Manly due to the fact that the acting was overall better than worse and I enjoyed watching Matthew Mcconaughey being the good guy and Kevin Spacey being the super mega dick AGAIN. The story itself was also pretty interesting and I really want to watch more court movies again.
Review by tuhbyus ★★½

Bad acting all around. Plot tries to save itself by having Jackson accuse McConaughey of just being another selfish white savior, wherein McConaughey “proves him wrong”, but actually doesn’t at all. Makes white people feel good I’m sure.
Otherwise, a classic courtroom drama set in the south, surrounding racial injustice. Okay character acting from the Sutherlands.
Review by Aaron ★★★½

Really decent courtroom drama with solid cast. I didn’t know Schumacher did this one as well as the client but I’d definitely say he had Grisham down. Only complaint I have is that it’s a little too long.
Review by Boogienights1 ★★½

Overwrought
Review by Donkey072 ★★★

A Time to Kill is a classic example of a movie that would have seemed progressive at the time but may not have aged well as it would have liked. The problem is that movies such as these are made by and made for white audiences. They try to depict racism through the eyes of the majority. The good news is that it’s not all bad. A Time to Kill and other movies of its ilk do a nice job creating empathy and even compassion towards the oppressed. However they suffer from a significant problems. They don’t actually know what racism feels like - and it shows. The even bigger problem is white people still need to be the heroes…