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Well he doesn't do any dancing, but he's still the star. John Travolta is back as attorney Jan Schlichtman in this week's Out & About Movie Review of A Civil Action. Hello again I'm Mike Stevens, your Out & About movie reviewing dude. This Touchstone Pictures production is directed by Steve Zaillian and co-produced by Robert Redford. A Civil Action is based on a book by Jonathan Harr, which was inspired by a true story. The story starts in Boston in the mid 80s where Travolta's character is a personal injury lawyer, better known as an ambulance chaser, not to be confused with a whiskey chaser. The firm that he, Travolta, runs takes on a case from Woburn, Mass where eight families had lost children to leukemia. The culprit is apparently the city's water that was somehow polluted with tri-chloro-ethylene, or TCE. So here is a warning, if the water tastes bad and smells bad, then you might not want to drink it. As for the movie, Travolta wants to drop the case because there's no money in it and so he drives to Woburn, where he gets a ticket, to inform the families about dropping the case. On his way out of town he gets another ticket and then discovers some deep pockets in the form of two large multi-national companies that could be sued. So now the battle is on between Travolta's firm and the two companies defense teams led by Robert Duvall and Bruce Norris. Also starring in the film, and giving wonderful performances, are William H. Macy and Tony Shalhoub. Macy you may remember from his Oscar winning performance in Fargo, ya. And you may remember Tony with a "Y" Shalhoub as Antonio Scarpacci from TV's Wings, or other numerous film roles including The Siege. Anyway, both are lawyers in Travolta's firm, and I'm not talking about the workout video variety. S to start with the case was supposed to be an easy victory with a huge settlement that gives the lawyers and families lots of money, but instead it drags on and on, to where even recouping the expenses put into the case starts to become an issue. But in the film Travolta wants what he can't get from the defendants, this is because his character begins to change from the perceived stereotypical attorney, to one with a heart and no money. A Civil Action is a griping drama that has great acting all around and the story is both compelling and heart wrenching. There are a few funny spots provided mainly by Macy's character, and I just have to mention this, no nudity. Alrighty then, it's time for the Out & About rating for A Civil Action. I give it nine couches out of the ten possible couches on my personal Out & About ratings scale. So bottom line, a great movie. That's it for me and this review. I'm Mike saying see you all later, now back to your host.
Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:45:33 AM |
