Time to kill

Two white racists, Billy Ray Cobb (Nicky Katt) and Pete Willard (Doug Hutchison), come across a 10-
year-old black girl named Tonya Hailey (Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly) in rural Mississippi. They violently rape and
beat Tonya and dump her in a nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her. She survives, and the men are
arrested.

Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson), seeks out Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey),
an easygoing white lawyer. Carl Lee is worried that the men may be acquitted due to deep-seated racism in the
Mississippi Delta area. They discuss a similar case further south in which four white teenagers were acquitted of
the rape of a black girl. Brigance admits the possibility that the rapists will walk free in this case as well. Carl Lee
acquires an M16 rifle, goes to the county courthouse and opens fire. This results in the deaths of both rapists and
also in the unintended injury of Deputy Looney (Chris Cooper), who has to have his leg amputated. Carl Lee is
soon arrested without resistance. Brigance agrees to provide defense for Carl Lee for a much smaller amount of
money than such a trial would usually require. He intends to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of temporary
insanity.

The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media attention. The Ku Klux Klan begins to
organize in the area. Freddie Lee Cobb (Kiefer Sutherland), the brother of Billy Ray, calls Brigance and his family
with death threats and organizes the formation of a Klan chapter in the county. The district attorney, Rufus
Buckley (Kevin Spacey), decides to seek the death penalty, and presiding Judge Omar Noose (Patrick McGoohan)
denies Brigance a change of venue. Brigance seeks help for his defense team from sleazy divorce lawyer and
close friend Harry Rex Vonner (Oliver Platt). He seeks guidance from long-time liberal activist Lucien Wilbanks
(Donald Sutherland), a once-great civil rights lawyer who was disbarred for violence on a picket line.

Brigance is approached by Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock), a fiery liberal law student from Massachusetts
who belongs to the ACLU. Brigance is initially reluctant to accept Ellen's cooperation, but he later agrees to let
her help with the case. The trial begins amid much attention from the media and public. The Klan, which has a
member inside the sheriff's department, burns a cross on Brigance's lawn. This incident causes an argument
between Brigance and his wife to the effect that if Jake had heeded Carl Lee's warning, this would not have
happened. The police evacuate Jake's family from their house. Brigance and the police capture one of the Klan
members, and they find a case with a bomb inside it. Brigance throws the bomb into the air, where it explodes.
This motivates Jake to send his wife and young daughter away while the trial continues.
 As the trial begins, the KKK march down Canton's streets and meet a large group of mostly black protesters
at the courthouse. Chaos ensues outside the courthouse as the police lose control of the crowd. A black teenager
kills the KKK Grand Dragon (Kurtwood Smith) with a Molotov cocktail, burning him to death. Brigance's
attraction to Roark grows, and they nearly begin an affair before Brigance regains his wits. He goes home, finding
that arsonists have burned down his house, nearly killing his dog Max in the process. The next morning, as the
Mississippi National Guard is called in to take care of the rioting, Brigance sits on the still-smoking steps of his
house, calling for his dog. Harry Rex arrives at the remains of the Brigance home and tells Jake that it is time to
quit the case. Brigance argues that to quit now would make his sacrifices meaningless. The jury secretly discusses
the case in a restaurant, going against the judge's instructions. All but one are leaning toward a guilty verdict and
Carl Lee's fate looks sealed.

Freddie Lee Cobb shoots at Brigance as he exits the courthouse, but misses. The bullet hits a national
guardsman policing the demonstrations, paralyzing him. Roark is kidnapped by Klansmen, beaten, tied to a stake
in the wilderness in her underwear and left to die. She is saved by an informant called "Mickey Mouse," who is
one of the Klansmen: Tim Nunley (John Diehl). Out of options, Brigance goes to see Carl Lee in his jail cell and
advises accepting a lesser guilty plea. Carl Lee refuses and rejects Brigance's notions of race and justice, noting
that although Brigance considers himself a "friend" to Carl Lee, Brigance has never visited his home and that "our
kids will never play together." Carl Lee tells Brigance that he chose Brigance to be his attorney because Brigance
is in fact his "enemy", as Brigance is white and was thus raised amid the same racial prejudices harbored by the
jury members. Carl Lee tells Brigance to sway the jury by presenting to them whatever argument it would take to
get Brigance himself to vote for acquittal, were Brigance a member of that jury.

The courthouse is packed to see the attorneys' closing arguments. Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes
and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the rape of a young 10-year-old girl, mirroring the
story of Tonya's rape. He then asks the jury, in his final comment, to "now imagine she's white." This final burst
of imagery challenges the very nature of the trial itself, raising the very real specter - within the racist culture of
the community in which the crime took place - that the actions of Hailey would not have been called to question
before the court of law had the victim been white. Had it been so, it is implied that the father's motive in murdering
the rapists would have been seen by the public as justified, and there would not have been any prosecution.

The argument Brigance then makes is that if the jury can - at any time - be compelled to spare the life of
a white man for a vengeful murder, then they must be able to do the same for a black man. After deliberation, an
African-American child runs out of the courthouse and screams, "he's innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the
supporters outside. The KKK, enraged, become violent again. Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton) arrests
Freddie Lee, as well as his own racist deputy. The movie ends when Brigance brings his wife and daughter to a
family cookout at Carl Lee's house. Carl Lee is surprised and standoffish. Jake explains, "just thought our kids
could play together," and Carl Lee smiles at that.
 RAINMAKER

Rudy Baylor (Damon) is a graduate of the University of Memphis Law School. Unlike most of his fellow
grads, he has no high-paying job lined up and is forced to apply for part-time positions while serving drinks at a
Memphis bar.

Desperate for a job, he reluctantly is introduced to J. Lyman "Bruiser" Stone (Mickey Rourke), a ruthless
but successful ambulance-chasing lawyer, who makes him an associate. To earn his fee, Rudy is required to hunt
for potential clients at a local hospital. He meets Deck Shifflet (DeVito), a less-than-ethical former insurance
assessor, now a paralegal who has failed the bar exam six times. However, Deck is resourceful in gathering
information and practically an expert on insurance lawsuits.

Rudy has just one case, one of insurance bad faith. It could be worth several million dollars in damages,
but his personal life is falling to pieces and he is about to declare himself bankrupt. When his employer is raided
by the police and the FBI, he and Deck set up a practice themselves. They file suit on behalf of a middle-aged
couple, Dot and Buddy Black, whose 22-year-old son, Donny Ray, dying of leukemia, but could have been saved
with a bone marrow transplant, denied by their insurance carrier Great Benefit.

Rudy passes the Tennessee bar exam but has never argued a case before a judge and jury. Now he finds
himself up against a group of experienced and devious lawyers from a large firm, headed by Leo F. Drummond
(Voight), a showman attorney who uses unscrupulous tactics to win his cases.

The original judge assigned the case, Harvey Hale, is set to dismiss it because he sees it as one of many
so-called "lottery" cases that slow down the judicial process. But a far more sympathetic judge, Tyrone Kipler
(Glover), takes over when Hale suffers a fatal heart attack in his swimming pool. Kipler, a former civil rights
attorney, immediately denies the insurance company's petition for dismissal.

While preparing his case, Rudy seeks new clients and meets pretty Kelly Riker (Danes), a battered wife
whose husband Cliff's savage beatings have put her in the hospital. He persuades Kelly to file for divorce, but this
leads to a confrontation with Rudy that results in the abusive husband's death. To keep Rudy from being
implicated, Kelly tells the police she was alone and killed her husband in self-defense. The district attorney
declines to prosecute her.

Donny Ray dies, but not before giving a video deposition in the front yard of his home. The case goes to
trial, where Drummond preys on Rudy's inexperience. He gets the vital testimony of Rudy's key witness, Jackie
Lemanczyk, stricken from the record. Nevertheless, thanks to Rudy's single-minded determination and skillful
cross-examination of Great Benefit's unctuous president, Wilfred Keeley, the jury finds for the plaintiff.

It is a great triumph for Rudy and Deck, at least until the insurance company quickly declares itself
bankrupt, thus allowing it to avoid paying fifty million dollars in punitive damages. There is no payout for the
grieving parents and no fee for Rudy.

Deciding that this triumph will create unrealistic expectations for future clients, Rudy decides to abandon
his new practice after only one case to teach law with a focus on ethical behaviour instead. Furthermore, he leaves
town with Kelly, out of a desire to remain low profile and protect Kelly from any possible retribution from Cliff's
vengeful relatives.