Fresh
Based on a true story, this is an intelligent legal thriller, very much in the mode of 1970s issue-oriented films, that may be too subtle and complex for the damands of today's market.
Emanuel Levy, Variety
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
A Civil Action
Overview
Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.
Director and cast
- Steven Zaillian Director
- John Travolta as Jan Schlichtmann
- Robert Duvall as Jerome Facher
- Tony Shalhoub as Kevin Conway
- William H. Macy as James Gordon
- Zeljko Ivanek as Bill Crowley
- Bruce Norris as William Cheeseman
- John Lithgow as Judge Walter J. Skinner
- Kathleen Quinlan as Anne Anderson
- Peter Jacobson as Neil Jacobs
- Mary Mara as Kathy Boyer
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
62%
Tomatometer
Rotten
As proficient a job as writer-director Steve Zaillian and his team do, A Civil Action has unmistakably unraveled by its close.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
Travolta captures the complexity of a man whose motives for doing good have as much to do with vanity as anything else.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh
The story presents both Schlichtmann and the civil court system as stubbornly complicated. And it tells a finely nuanced tale of right, wrong and the gray area in between.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Fresh
Zaillian managed to surprise me by crafting a courtroom drama which is sufficiently different and thought-provoking that I can recommend it with a clear conscience.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
More films
The Rainmaker (1997)
Drama · PG-13
Fresh out of law school and desperate for work, idealistic rookie Rudy Baylor takes on a powerful insurance company accused of denying a dying boy’s claim. Teaming up with a scrappy, unlicensed paralegal, he finds himself in a David-versus-Goliath courtroom battle that tests his ethics, courage, and belief in justice.
- Runtime
- 2h 15m
- Director
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Cast
- Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Danny DeVito
IMDb
7.2
Rotten Tomatoes
82%
Metacritic
72
The Verdict (1982)
Drama · R
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin suddenly realizes ...
- Runtime
- 2h 9m
- Director
- Sidney Lumet
- Cast
- Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden
IMDb
7.7
Rotten Tomatoes
88%
Metacritic
77
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
Drama · Not Rated
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
- Runtime
- 1h 30m
- Director
- Laura Dern, Bonnie Hunt
- Cast
- Jennifer Hudson, Sarah Hyland, Melissa Leo
IMDb
6.8
Dark Waters (2019)
Drama · Thriller · PG-13
A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything — his future, his family, and his own life — to expose the truth.
- Runtime
- 2h 7m
- Cast
- Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins
IMDb
7.6
Rotten Tomatoes
89%
Metacritic
73
The Social Network (2010)
Drama · PG-13
In 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programmer Mark Zuckerberg begins work on a new concept that eventually turns into the global social network known as Facebook. Six years later, Mark is one of the youngest billionaires ever, but his unprecedented success leads to both personal and legal complications when he ends up on the recei...
- Runtime
- 2h 1m
- Director
- David Fincher
- Cast
- Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer
IMDb
7.8
Rotten Tomatoes
96%
Metacritic
95
The Four Robinsons (1939)
Comedy · N/A
Four friends pretend a cruise to escape their wives and go clubbing, but they are forced to go through face-saving shipwreck, becoming castaways.
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Eduardo García Maroto
- Cast
- Antonio Vico, Mary Santpere, Fernando Rey
IMDb
5.8
La mantilla de Beatriz (1946)
Drama · Romance · N/A
In XVII century Portugal two friends change identities so one of them can escape an unwanted marriage to Beatriz.
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Director
- Eduardo García Maroto
- Cast
- Virgílio Teixeira, Margarita Andrey, María Isbert
Comments
Talk about the film with other members