A Time to Kill is a 1996 American legal drama thriller movie directed by Joel Schumacher released in July 1996. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by John Grisham It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey and Kevin Spacey. Jackson plays an Carl Lee Hailey whose ten-year-old daughter Tonya is raped by two white racist men in Mississippi. He acts as a vigilante by killing the two rapists. McConaughey plays Jake Tyler Brigance, a lawyer who defends Hailey in court during his murder trial. "A Time to Kill" was a strong box office success during 1996 and was distributed through Warner Bros..