Fresh
Based on a true story, this is an intelligent legal thriller, very much in the mode of 1970s issue-oriented films, that may be too subtle and complex for the damands of today's market.
Emanuel Levy, Variety
Overview
Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.
Director and cast
- Steven Zaillian Director
- John Travolta as Jan Schlichtmann
- Robert Duvall as Jerome Facher
- Tony Shalhoub as Kevin Conway
- William H. Macy as James Gordon
- Zeljko Ivanek as Bill Crowley
- Bruce Norris as William Cheeseman
- John Lithgow as Judge Walter J. Skinner
- Kathleen Quinlan as Anne Anderson
- Peter Jacobson as Neil Jacobs
- Mary Mara as Kathy Boyer
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
62%
Tomatometer
Rotten
As proficient a job as writer-director Steve Zaillian and his team do, A Civil Action has unmistakably unraveled by its close.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
Travolta captures the complexity of a man whose motives for doing good have as much to do with vanity as anything else.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh
The story presents both Schlichtmann and the civil court system as stubbornly complicated. And it tells a finely nuanced tale of right, wrong and the gray area in between.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Fresh
Zaillian managed to surprise me by crafting a courtroom drama which is sufficiently different and thought-provoking that I can recommend it with a clear conscience.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
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