videorama-759-859391 Sadly, this was a film that almost went unnoticed at the cinema, while that other and much bigger Travolta vehicle, The General's Daughter came out later that year. Happening to catch this on t.v., it was absolutely worth my invested time. The story does tread familiar territory, and does border on melodramatic at times, with Travolta at the helm, as a likeable hero you love rooting for, and you have seen him in a couple of these same roles, the latter mentioned movie, one example, of a single powerful force determined to get to the truth, by any means possible, in probably what wasn't the most satisfying or strongest ending. Some toxins are contaminating the drinking water, of this little town, which resulted in the deaths of little children from two families, where a ragged and defeated mother (Quinlan) implores Travolta, a lawyer in a small city firm, to take the case, along with his other 3 partners. His firm really handpicks cases, where he really can't afford to lose, where the predicability is in place in to how the rest of the movie will play out. At first, he's dead set against taking the case, but thanks to a second speeding ticket he receives, he sees for himself, the state of the below standard water. This is a deeply involving film, where recently in an estate area, Lightsview, just out of Adelaide, here, an issue involving drinking dirty, possibly, infected water, has just come to light, staying dormant over the last four five years, where community contractors, happened to make the horrible find. Travolta is completely in his element here, alongside Duvall, who both deliver strong, top floor performances, especially Duvall, while Quinlan was really and believably good. Other supports, deliver too, like the late great Gandofini, who you wanna see more of in this. This is one of those films that has you, where you have to watch the rest on one viewing. So sit back,pop the t.v and be involved in this good payoff.

Ross622 Steven Zaillian's "A Civil Action" is not a great movie but is a very good movie that holds businesses accountable for bad practices but in a more serious way than "The Big Short" (2015) did but this time it wasn't banks that the movie was going after but it's more so oil companies. The movie stars John Travolta as Jan Schlictmann a lawyer who sometimes gets in over his head who has some families tell him that some of their children have died in their neighborhoods due to leukemia that in legal terms Schlictmann believes is enough evidence suitable for a trial for the case Schlictmann's firm charges two really big companies at the time Beatrice Foods and WR Grace (which was a major oil company). The courtroom scenes in this movie are good but there are some moments where Judge Walter Skinner (John Lithgow) who is presiding over the case makes Schlictmann look like a total fool, the courtroom scenes don't rank among the best in movie history with movies like "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957), "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), "The Verdict" (1982), "JFK" (1991), or "A Few Good Men" (1992). Where in those movies the lawyers had facts to back up their case which was a major problem that I had with this movie. Another problem that I had was that Zaillian's screenplay isn't really as strong as I expected it to be and the script wasn't that great like his screenplays for movies like "Schindler's List" (1993), "Gangs of New York" (2002), or "Moneyball" (2011) even though the movie has a really good cast. During the trial the attorney representing Beatrice is a man named Jerome Facher (Robert Duvall) whose charges eventually get dismissed by Judge Skinner because Schlictmann never really had much of a case against them.The people in Schlictmann's firm has a cast of good actors like William H. Macy, and Tony Shalhoub who gave excellent performances in the movie. The movie also has good supporting actors such as James Gandolfini as one of Schlictmann's witnesses.After the case against Beatrice is dismissed he continues going against WR Grace but is having financial trouble and then gets a loan from a man named Al Eustis (Sydney Pollack). The movie is Zaillian's second movie as a director and i'm hoping he does better with other movies that he directed. But I still liked the movie.

Adam Sentiff Jan Schlichtmann, a personal injury attorney with little to no scruples finds himself in a case where children have died of leukemia based on possible environmental waste issues. A case in which may cost him not only career but everything.A fine court room drama based on real life issues. The acting is what truly makes this film a dramatic and gripping. Travolta does a exceedingly wonderful job portraying Jan Schlichtmann, as well as the all star ensemble cast in this film. The pacing though may be slow for some is filled with pure characterization and all is eventual in the building of this methodical plot. Not just for judicial court room drama enthusiasts but fans of human films with heart. Though some reflect that this film is unrealistic in its presentation of all the facts but for the sake of entertainment and the pacing of the film. The overall mood of this film is somber and delicate but ultimately this films true great points are in its characterization its story and its gripping dramatic heart. I highly recommend this film to any fans of pure cinematic drama and true story enthusiasts, one in which has its morals deeply rooted within the film.

sddavis63 If you go into this expecting an exciting, edge of your seat legal thriller type of movie you;re going to be disappointed. I watched this twice. The first time because from what had been described, that's what I was expecting - and I was disappointed. But I decided to give it another chance, reflecting more on the moral of the story and the characters. Using this lens, I wasn't disappointed.John Travolta put on a pretty good performance as Jan Schlictmann, a personal injury lawyer who, although unenthused at first, takes on a case involving environmental contamination that has caused several children in Massachussetts to die of leukemia. Basically, he takes it on because he discovers that there are two huge corporations he could get money from, and that's one moral of the story: personal injury law is less about the victims who've been hurt and more about the money that can be made. IN fact, the very opening of the movie establishes that well, as Schlictmann (in a narration by Travolta) describes who the preferred victims are, based on how much money you can expect to make off them, and children are at the bottom of the list. Schlictmann belongs to a small but pretty successful law firm that doesn't accept cases unless they know they can win, since that's the only way they get paid. The whole point of this type of practice, we're told, is to avoid trials and get big settlements. His colleagues doubt the wisdom of accepting this case but go along with it, until Schlictmann loses his "perspective" in two way: he actually starts to care about the victims, declining large settlements because they're not enough, and, faced with a degree of contempt from the big law firms he's going up against, he decides he has to prove himself. The result is disaster. The firm and all the partners go broke, even after a settlement is made, because what they get doesn't come close to covering their costs, and the families are disappointed because they didn't really care about money - they wanted an apology and a clean-up.Although not especially exciting, the movie is well-paced and interesting, and includes a solid supporting cast, including folks like Robert Duvall, William H. Macy and Tony Shalhoub. I found the end a bit anti-climactic. Hard to believe you could feel sympathy for an ambulance chaser, but by the time the movie ends, I really wanted Schlictmann to win. Instead, he ends up totally destitute - telling a bankruptcy judge that he's left with $14 and a portable radio. He wants to continue the case but doesn't have the resources, so he turns everything over to the EPA. They do take the case on - and win - but Schlictmann is long gone by the time that happens.Since this was a true story, it was nice to see the companies forced to pay up, and somewhat uplifting to learn that Schlictmann switched from personal injury law to environmental law. And, as much as I wanted him to succeed in this case in the end, it is a true story, so the end was what it was. A pretty good movie all in all. 7/10