a time to kill be base on john grisham first novel and the one he write before he be famous and and the one that do not skyrocket him to fame . ( that would be accomplish by the firm ) . that why this movie do not get make until much late and after grisham be off churn out meaningless book with the movie dollar sign fresh in his head . unlike most of those and this book be actually about something . it have meat and it have weight and and it have heart . but it also have a fatal flaw and and this fatal flaw get translate into the movie . namely and a time to kill set you up . here we have a black man ( jackson ) and on trial for the murder of two white men who brutally rap and torture his 10 year old daughter . we have an underdog lawyer ( mcconaughey ) battle the big bad system to save his client . and oh and by the way and the whole thing be set against the backdrop of racism in mississippi and complete with hooded kkk men burn cross . in other word and be suppose to sympathize with carl lee hailey . be suppose to believe that a father who love his daughter be justify in kill the men who rap her . be suppose to feel the injustice of a system where a racist all white jury could judge a black man who be just try to avenge a brutal crime . be suppose feel like be stand alongside the people chant free carl lee . but the racism issue be a smokescreen and and the whole thing be contrive . carl lee hailey be a vigilante . yes and there be mitigate circumstance for what he do and but the fact remain that he wasn not innocent . this would have be true no matter what his skin colour and or the skin colour of the assailant of his daughter and the judge and the jury and or anyone else . and what so heavy hand about this film be that it paint anyone who believe carl lee should have be convict be a racist . the message seem to be that if you believe that the law shouldn not be take into people own hand and then you might as well be burn cross on a lawn somewhere wear a hood . this isn not the first time a heavy dose of sentimentalism be insert into a story like this and and it would not be the last . a a movie and a time to kill stay pretty faithful to the book and and the act isn not half bad . but it play the hand it have be dealt and really . even a good cast can not elevate bad source material .