A CIVIL ACTION
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In A CIVIL ACTION, Jan Schlichtmann, a personal injury lawyer, more
aptly known as an ambulance chaser, has been named one of Boston's 10
most eligible bachelors. With his movie star good looks and his
expensive clothing, he blasts down the small road in his sleek, black
Porsche on the way to turn down some would-be clients. Their case,
involving a cluster of leukemia deaths among 8 children, appears to be a
financial loser. (He has already lectured the audience in voice-over
about the "calculus" of human worth. Children, having no current
incoming producing ability, fall at the bottom of the charts.)
Jan wants to waste as little of his valuable time as possible on this
case. After getting his second speeding ticket of the day, he notices a
stream near where his car had been pulled over by the officer.
Following it, he gets his fancy shoes muddy, but he discovers the mother
lode. There are two big companies (Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace) who
have facilities near the stream. As visions of checks with large
numbers of zeros flash through his head, a smug smile comes across his
face, and he decides then and there to take the case. Without any
testing to see if the companies' proximity to the water has any
relationship whatsoever to the children's illness, he knows only that
the companies have the deep pockets from which he figures he can extract
large sums of money for himself and his clients.
(Writer and director Steven Zaillian's adaptation of Jonathan Harr's
book can be infuriating if you think too hard about some of the
scientific conclusions being drawn. As recent articles in the "Wall
Street Journal" and "Forbes" have pointed out, the case is far from the
simplistic one described. Clusters will occur in any set of random
numbers, and whether these two companies had anything to do with it was
never proven. The articles point out that the chemical (TCE) mentioned
in the movie is not a human carcinogen, and the town in question has had
ground water contamination for 350 years. At any rate, the entertaining
movie has significant problems even if you accept the book and
screenplay as the full and complete truth.)
The problems start with John Travolta's flat performance as Jan.
Travolta never warms up to the role, coming across as emotionally
uninvolved. Whereas he threw himself into his recent part in PRIMARY
COLORS, playing another character with a flexible set of morals, this
time he approaches the role with clinical detachment. Generating
neither sympathy nor scorn, he gives a passionless performance than
leaves the movie with a hollow core.
Writer and director Zaillian, who was so masterfully in control in
SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER, sets a languid pace in A CIVIL ACTION.
Fascinating incidents frequently dissolve into tedium as the energy gets
drained away.
Notwithstanding all of these troubles, the supporting cast is terrific,
and, as a writer, Zaillian comes up with some great, subtle humor that
provides one laugh after another as the lawyers put down each other and
themselves. (The script is much less successful in conjuring up the
pain and suffering of the children. Absent a few scenes, their misery
is discussed with all of the compassion of a medical textbook.)
The movie is worth seeing for Robert Duvall's performance alone, which
deserves to be remembered at Oscar time. As Jerome Facher, the cagey
old lawyer for Beatrice, Duvall is mesmerizing as he runs circles around
the younger and more aggressive lawyers. Acting like a man who always
has 5 aces up his sleeve, Jerome disarms his prey by talking about
everything but the law. In a particularly delicious scene, he sits
listening to Jan hanging himself through the sin of pride. After asking
if he could have the nifty hotel pen, Jerome smiles at his adversary and
leaves, ignoring entirely Jan's pompous attempt at negotiations. The
character of Jerome is so rich that a television series could easily be
built around it. When Jerome is on the screen, all of the movie's
failings are quickly forgotten.
The other amazing piece of work comes from William H. Macy as James
Gordon, the accountant for Jan's small law firm, who tries valiantly but
unsuccessfully to reign in the firm's soaring expenses for the case. As
Jan bankrupts himself and his partners, James slowly and surely begins
to lose it emotionally. Macy's sympathetic portrayal of James will have
you laughing so hard that you almost cry as James tries everything from
lottery tickets to a plethora of credit cards to come up with the cash
necessary to keep the case afloat.
The battle, in which there were few winners, is all too neatly wrapped
up in a Hollywood style ending. The legal conclusions are printed in
stark white letters just before the ending credits. Don't read them too
carefully, however, or you will realize how little was really decided.
A CIVIL ACTION runs 1:58. It is rated PG-13 for mature themes and
several uses of the F-word and would be fine for kids around 12 and up.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
Web: www.InternetReviews.com
Have I Seen This Movie: Yes
And What Did I Think?: A Civil Action is a true life story about a lawyer named Jan Schlichtmann (played by John Travolta) who risks everything to help a small town take on a corporation who has polluted their water supply. Travolta gives a good performance as Schlictmann who changes from an egotisitcal lawyer out for his own gain to one with a heart. also starring in this film is Robert Duvall who plays the attorney for the corporation and is Schictmann's old rival from school. John Lithgow also costars as the judge that hears the case. This film has plenty of great courtroom drama, so if you're into that, you shouldnt be too disappointed. I found it moved along a little slow at times but eventually picked up. I found it interesting that Jan Schictmann went on to defend a town not far from me where there was numerous deaths from cancer, possibly from a contaminant. Check out A Civil Action if you enjoy legal dramas.
I give A Civil Action 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review written July 22, 1999