A TIME TO KILL is the INDEPENDENCE DAY of courtroom dramas. Let me explain why.

Two rednecks in Mississippi brutally rape a 10-year old black girl and leave her for dead. The girl's father, enraged at the crime and the thought that the rapists could go free, guns the culprits down in cold blood in the county courthouse. Our main character is the struggling young (white) lawyer whom the father enjoins to get him off the hook.

A scenario like this is a powderkeg, a sort of legal equivalent of the global destruction in ID4. Do you send the father to the gas chamber for murdering two men? Do you let him go free, because those men got what they deserved? Do you enforce the status quo of white supremacy in the deep South or do you validate Black rage? Like the primary beam weapon of the alien spacecraft, the case aims directly at focal points of American society -- violent crime, racial conflict and justice.

Courtroom dramas don't rely on special effects to achieve blockbuster status, they rely on a heavy-hitting cast. A captivating array of names is assembled here: Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey, father of the raped child; Sandra Bullock as ace law student Ellen Roark; Kevin Spacey as the unflappable District Attorney; Donald Sutherland as the drunk-yet-wise mentor. Then there's Patrick McGoohan, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, _Kiefer_ Sutherland, Brenda Fricker and Charles S. Dutton. The only major player without a highly visible name is THE *main* player -- Matthew McConaughey as Jake Brigance, Carl Lee's defense attorney.

Matthew McConaughey is in theaters now as Buddy Deeds in LONE STAR from director John Sayles. And though I remember him dimly as Drew Barrymore's policeman boyfriend in BOYS ON THE SIDE, I first saw him in MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK, which I think is his feature debut. I can't say I remember his performance in that one at all -- he played "Guy #2."

However, it will prove impossible to forget his performance in A TIME TO KILL. Even though Sandra Bullock and Samuel Jackson are billed ahead of McConaughey, this is his movie. Just as the weight of Carl Lee's defense lies entirely on Jake's shoulders, the final effect of A TIME TO KILL rests entirely on McConaughey. The crucial "closing arguments" scene was dangerous -- one false step and it could have been ludicrous. McConaughey walked a tight-rope and there were times I thought he'd fall off. But he made it to the other side, delivering a clear, deep performance. I was impressed. Kudos should also go to director Joel Schumacher for that.

Samuel L. Jackson was good, too, but his best moments were set pieces. The same goes for Donald Sutherland. Sandra Bullock was very charming and quite good, but I thought her role was unreasonably marginalized. She enters the action of the film relatively late and is sidelined during the climax and denouement. She doesn't even get a proper farewell. McConaughey's role seemed the only one well-rounded enough to shine throughout the movie.

By the way: Anyone who liked Patrick McGoohan's appearance as King Edward in BRAVEHEART will enjoy his present avatar as the most intimidating Southern judge since Fred Gwynne's performance in MY COUSIN VINNY. I like McGoohan. His work on BBC's "The Prisoner" qualifies him in my book as England's most deeply disturbed, yet inspired, actor.

Is A TIME TO KILL perfect? No way. Some scenes are overwritten -- gesture could have substituted for words. Some scenes are falsely dramatic -- film technique is used to create motivation and tension that isn't really there. Also, like INDEPENDENCE DAY, A TIME TO KILL suffers from annoying plot threads and gaps in credibility. Most annoying are the scenes with racially motivated organizations, the KKK on one side and the NAACP on the other. The KKK is the more persistent agitator. Their actions up the ante and the danger as the movie progresses -- necessary for screenplay structure, but, oh god, are those scenes hokey and annoying. I was glad when they finally managed to burn down Jake's house. That meant the ante had been pushed as far as it could go and the KKK was no longer needed. The plot could focus directly on the case.

In terms of credibility gaps... I thought Carl Lee jumped the gun a bit in shooting the rapists before the trial. It would have made more sense if he committed the crime after they got off the hook. But then again, that would have made for an easier case and the drama would not have been as high. I also thought that the KKK could have done a little more to McConaughey, Bullock and Jackson's characters... And I think if I go into any more of these kinds of problems I might be giving too much away.

I will tell you the greatest problem I have with the film -- it never lets you doubt that the protagonists' side is Right. The issues are far too complex for such a simple treatment. Donald Sutherland's character points out the dilemma. He says something like, "If you win, justice will be served. If you lose, justice will also be served. It's a strange case." He says this, but the film never deals with that adequately. The side that wants to "Free Carl Lee" is ever reasonable and good. The side that wants to "Fry Carl Lee" is ever ignorant or evil.

A TIME TO KILL is the latest John Grisham novel to make it to the screen. So that fans of John Grisham know: I *hated* THE PELICAN BRIEF. I *really* liked THE CLIENT. I didn't see THE FIRM. I would say A TIME TO KILL checks in an inch or two below THE CLIENT overall, but certainly several miles above THE PELICAN BRIEF.

If you go see A TIME TO KILL, see it as you would INDEPENDENCE DAY -- with your frontal lobe turned off for the sensationalistic aspects of the film. Ironically, the sensationalistic, racially-charged scenes that ring the least true are the least important to the core of the story. Because the core of the story depends on the case and the core of the case does *not* depend on race.

Despite its shortcomings, I must give credit to A TIME TO KILL for effectively bringing that message across.

(BTW, it's a heck of a film to see after serving a week on jury duty. As I did.)

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