Racism In John Grisham's A Time To Kill

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Register to read the introduction… This not only made this scene memorable but made an impact on all societies everywhere. McConaugheys’ performance was very convincing as he also begins to get chocked up during his delivery of his argument. In this scene the performance of Carl Lee (Samuel L. Jackson), Omar Noose (Patrick McGoohan), and Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) are outstanding. The cinematographers’ (Peter Menzies Jr.) use of lighting, filters, and choices of lens made all these actors standout. Menzies was able to bring the jury, Carl Lee Hailey, Jake Brigance, Omar Noose, and all other spectators in the courtroom, come into focus at specific times, to show the emotions tearing through the courtroom. Depth of focus allows us to see specific expressions during the closing argument. This builds a more dramatic scene for the viewer. Graphics and fast-lambent cinematography at the beginning of the film; the scene then going into the rape of Tonya Hailey, is for the purpose of getting the hearts of the audience to sympathize with the …show more content…
The rape of 10 year old Tonya Hailey epitomizes this hatred. The casts’ realization of this hatred flows in each of the characters during the filming of this movie, creating a more convincing storyline about racial injustice. It is possible to say that the race issue in “A Time to Kill” maybe legitimate exploration of black/white tension (Berardinelli 1996). It’s also possible to question how much is sensationalism (Berardinelli 1996). In many courtroom drams there is much that is typically grandstanding in order to entertain the audience. Even though Hollywood loves to add many twists and surprises, Grisham made sure to keep this all to a minimum which brings the theme more into focus (Berardinelli …show more content…
The focus of the film may lead some to believe that the story is of the racism issues in Mississippi at this time, but the true story line is; what would you do if this was your little girl? It don’t matter if your black or white; if your child was raped and brutally beaten, what would you do as a father or even a parent? The genre of this film is actually based on crime, drama and thrill. The directors do an excellent job of placing all these genres into this film, from the rape to the trail and all the controversy in between. Courtroom dramas always make for an accelerating film. In many courtroom films though, the story and even theme may get lost for the sure point of entertaining. A Time To Kill pulls the audience in with a great storyline of a black man on trial for murder in a white supremacy state. It holds the theme throughout of racism in the south during this time. The outstanding casts of characters do an outstanding job of incorporating their very own emotion into their characters. By doing this the reality of the seriousness surrounding racism in the deep rooted south comes to

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