Plot outline: Based on a John Grisham novel. A young attorney (Mattew McConaughey) is faced with the toughest case of his life. He must defend a black father (Samuel L. Jackson) who gunned down two rednecks for raping and murdering his daughter. In the meantime, racial tensions are rising in the state of Mississippi.

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Charles Dutton
Crew: Directed by Joel Schumacher, written by John Grisham and Akiva Goldsman.

The critics:

• "The acting is so persuasive and the direction is so fluid that the material seems convincing while it's happening. I was moved by McConaughey's speech to the jury, and even more moved by an earlier speech by Jackson to McConaughey."
  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
• "Directed by Joel Schumacher in the overheated style of his own execrable Falling Down the picture never lets legalities interfere when rabble-rousing emotion can rule."
  John Hart, Film.com
• "A handsome but riotously cluttered melodrama with maybe 145 subplots, it's the latest and least in a soulless string of preordained multiplex hits from the John Grisham warehouse."
  Mike Clark, USA Today

My Jacksonometer:

3 out of 5. An outstanding performance by Samuel L. Jackson can't save this essentially weak story. Apart from Mr. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey's performance manages to convince, but the rest of the cast members seem to confuse sweating with acting. Go see it if you're a Grisham fan.

Links:

• Mr. Jackson pictures from the movie
• Media Player Trailer - IMDB