A Review of the Film A Time to Kill
...e movie the Ku Klux Klan was introduced. The acts of violence and hate that they preformed during this movie were against the white citizens of the community. They claimed that being white and helping the black community made them worse than being black. Throughout the second half of the movie the Ku Klux Klan made several attacks and even attempted murder on many of the main characters, all who were white. The ongoing legal battle in this film dealt with the innocence of a black man, Carl Lee, for killing two men accused of raping his ten year old daughter. Jake Brigance, the main character, accused the community of being “colorblind” and challenged them to “look past color and see the truth.” Another character, associated with the NAACP, pointed out that the struggles Dr. King marched for in earlier years were still struggles in this Mississippi town. During the movie, we as the viewers are forced to examine our own lives and see if any prejudices exist in our own hearts. Given that the movie was set in somewhat present times, the dialect they used is very common to what we use today. Most, but not all, characters had southern accents. One symbolic or mood setting moment was during the murder of the two rapists. All background noise and speech was replaced by an old gospel song written by Thomas A. Dorsey. The words are, “Precious Lord, take my hand/ Lead me on, let me stand/ I am tired, I am weak, I am worn./ Through the storm, through the night/ Lead me on to the light.” This gospel song was written by an African American man when he was going through a rough time in his life and for this reason it was very appropriate in this scene of the movie. In A Time to Kill, Matthew McConaughey plays small-town lawyer Jake Brigance. Jake is known as a family man. One way this is shown is that he bought a rundown house so that he and his wife could make the renovations together. Another way is when hearing the story of rape, he places his own daughter in the situation and feels the same intense anger that Carl Lee must have felt. Jake seemed to be very genuine and friendly with many members of the community. At one point in the movie, Jake’s secretary accuses him of being obsessed with the trial. His friend Rex claimed that his dedication inspired the un-inspirable. Although he befriended Carl Lee, he never completely broke through the barrier of racism that he was brought up in. He sees Carl Lee as a black man as opposed to a man. Hearing Carl Lee say this affected Jake’s viewpoint and helped him realize the prejudices that he had. Ultimately, it was realizing this that helped Jake win the case. Another character was Carl Lee Haley, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Stricken by grief after his daugh...