A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill, directed by Joel Schumacher is a film that presents the high racial tensions in Canton Mississippi in the early 1990's. The film opens with two young men, James Lewis Willard and Billy Ray Cobb joy riding in their beat up yellow pick up truck decked out with Confederate flags. They speed though black neighborhoods throwing full beer bottles at people and houses, until they come across ten-year-old Tonya Hailey walking home from the grocery store. The men pull over, trap her, rape her repeatedly, beat her, hang her, throw her off a bridge and leave her for dead. Her siblings find Tonya later that day, barely alive, her father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) and the black community is outraged. Tonya's missing shoe is found in the back of the yellow pick up truck and both men are arrested for rape and attempted murder. Carl Lee confronts his lawyer, Jake Brigance (Mathew McConaughey) about similar cases where the white criminals were let off or given light sentences for similar charges, which enrages Carl Lee further. Carl Lee asks if Jake will stand by him in a jam, Jake promises he will. The next morning Carl Lee shoots the two men on the way to their arraignment, both men die and
Joel Schumacher uses many techniques to represent the separation and differences between the blacks and whites in Canton and emphasize certain scenes. It is easy to imagine that the events in the movie actually did happen or could happen in American today. The jury then finds the strength to pass judgment that was not based on race. At that point Jake is convinced that they will lose, he confronts Carl Lee about accepting a plea bargain. Through out the scenes in to courtroom, the truth about racism in Canton and America is revealed. When Buckley cross-examines, he pushed Carl Lee to say that he believed that the men deserved to die and he hopes they burn in hell. The District Attorney, Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey) begins to discuss the importance of keeping the case in this county in order to have a better chance of an all white jury, Jake files a change of venue for the opposite reason. Jake and Carl Lee were heroes because Carl Lee risked sacrificing himself by taking the law into his own hands to prove that the legal system was not fair and impartial. " Carl Lee is found innocent and released immediately; he hurries out to meet and embraces Tonya outside the courthouse. Both Jake and Buckley succeed in discrediting each other's psychologist used to determine whether or not Carl Lee was sane or not when he murdered to two men. You Jake are my secret weapon- you are one of the bad guys. There is not much music used in the movie, but most of the music that is used is black gospel music.
Common topics in this essay:
Carl Lee,
Carl Lee's,
Lee Jake,
Cobb Willard,
carl lee,
Joel Schumacher,
Lee Klan,
Buckley DA,
John Grisham's,
Tonya Hailey,
Ray Cobb,
lee jake,
carl lee jake,
black community,
law own hands,
own hands,
carl lee's,
jake carl,
law own,
cobb willard,
jake carl lee,
carl lee shoots,
lee shoots,
joel schumacher,
lee law own,
|
Acceptance Essays
