1998, 1 hr 52 min., Rated PG-13 for some strong language. Dir: Steven Zaillian. Cast: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, Zeljko Ivanek, Bruce Norris, James Gandolfini, John Lithgow.

I've never seen a real trial, and traffic court doesn't count for personal experience, so I have no idea what an actual case involves. What I know I see on television, although I don't think many shows are realistic, either. On "The Practice," every lawsuit involves a case with national implications as hordes of media descend on every trial in the show; "Ally McBeal" only shows pop justice, as weird cases that almost always involve sex are ruled on by judges who should never be on the bench; "Law and Order" seems okay, and to me shows more truth in law and law practice. It may even be better than "L.A. Law", because at least not everybody is really rich and yuppie and sleeping together. But in A Civil Action, I believe we see more of the truth in justice, the fact that "truth" means nothing in a court of law.

At the beginning, it was refreshing to see how honest the A Civil Action was in portraying a personal injury lawyer as scheming and driven by money and power. Travolta wheels a disabled man into a courtroom where his mere presence elicits a tear from a juror and sympathetic glances that encourages the defendant to settle for $2 million quickly. In a voice-over we hear Travolta, as Jan Schlichtmann, talking of how much certain victims are worth; a white male professional struck down in his prime gives the biggest payoff, and a dead child is worth the least of all.

If this weren't based on a true story, I would never believe it, as sleazy Travolta becomes overly-sympathetic and financially suicidal to bring a lawsuit against two rich, old-school law firms protecting big business. He abandons his ideals of only taking cases that assure some payoff, and brings down his partners with him, as all assets in the small firm are used in the fight.

The story stems from a lawsuit filed by the parents of 12 dead children, all from leukemia, presumably from the poisoned water that "tasted funny" and was tainted with chemicals from the local factories. These small companies don't have much money and are not worthy to sue, but Jan discovers that they are subsidiaries of multi-mutli-million dollar corporations Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace. Bingo! We see the dollar signs flash before Jan's eyes.

I may not like Travolta's life outside of the movie theater, but I always appreciate his talents on the big screen. He's one of the better things coming out of tinseltown nowadays, and in A Civil Action it can't be easy to imitate a real-life human being in such an emotional state from difficult times, especially when the occurence was less than 10 years ago.

Robert Duvall gives a standout performance as a brilliant and experienced lawyer for Beatrice Foods, who knows every detail of the case before it happens, and even tries to extend an olive branch to Jan to prevent the younger lawyer from destroying his life. Of course, Jan allows his pride and bravado to shield his doubts and emotions that are too close to the case.

Of course, if Kathleen Quinlan came to me I would have probably caved also. Quinlan has such a warmth in her eyes and her smile melts gold, not to mention the heart of a plant worker who gives the plaintiffs their big break.

The best role, however, is reserved for William H. Macy, the firm's accountant, who futily tries to prevent the firm's and the partners' inevitable bankruptcy. All homes are mortgaged, dozens of credit cards from unheard of banks are maxed out, all staff are let go and the partners sit on the hardwood floor with no furniture as financial ruin rains down.

In the end, there are no "Perry Mason" moments in the courtroom, although one scene in town is close. We don't actually see W.R. Grace and Beatrice knocked to their knees and ordered to give away all their money to the families or research. Actually, many times I was yelling (silently) for Jan to settle and take the millions offered, because even though Quinlan and the other parents wanted an apology and the town cleaned from chemicals, that's an almost impossible task for a small firm as Jan's. His life is substantially degraded, and takes down his partners, while all could have been decided after a month and millions of dollars saved. It's hard to watch someone's life drift away and see as all hope is lost.

Yet, A Civil Action kept me riveted and wanting more, which is the mark of a good movie.