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A Civil Action

1998

Steven Zaillian

John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy ...

5.8

7,165

Drama Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious lawyer, is addressed by a group of families. When investigating the seemingly non-profiting case, he finds it to be a major environmental issue that has a lot of impact potential. A leather production company could be responsible for several deadly cases of leukemia, but also is the main employer for the area. Schlichtmann and his three colleagues set out to have the company forced to decontaminate the ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"[It] doesn't simplify the issues and make Schlichtmann into a romantic hero (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Michael O'Sullivan The Washington Post	"That Zaillian remains faithful to the historical facts of the case is admirable (...) But such a jaundiced view of litigation, however authentic, is not necessarily the stuff of great drama"	NEU
United States	Janet Maslin The New York Times	"What makes this gripping, expertly acted film by Steven Zaillian so enveloping is its avoidance of anything [easy]."	POS
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"The result is a well-meaning movie that skims the highlights of a riveting story without plumbing its depths."	NEU
United States	Peter Rainer New York Magazine	"Reportedly, Jonathan Harr’s nonfiction best-seller 'A Civil Action' is being used as a textbook in law schools. The movie that has been made from it is unlikely to be used as a model in film schools."	NEG
United States	Emanuel Levy Variety	"A solid and intelligent legal thriller that may be too complex in its issues, and too low-key and unexciting in its style, for today’s market demands."	NEU
United States	Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader	"It suffers from a scattershot approach (...) The theme remains strong, but the storytelling doesn't do it justice."	NEU
United States	Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly	"[It] starts well, but it turns into an almost perversely undramatic legal thriller."	NEU

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