A Time to Kill (2006)

If A Time to Kill was made 10 years later:

Directed By: James Mangold

Plot
In the town of Canton, Mississippi, ten-year-old African American Tonya Hailey (Sierra Aylina McClain) is abducted, raped, and beaten by two local white men, Billy Ray Cobb (Ben Feldman) and Pete Willard (Walton Goggins). The duo dump her in a nearby river after a failed attempt to hang her. Tonya survives, and the two men are arrested by Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Forest Whitaker).

Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey (Denzel Washington), contacts Jake Brigance (Jake Gyllenhaal), a white lawyer who previously defended his brother. Brigance admits the possibility that the rapists will walk free. Carl Lee goes to the county courthouse and opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing both rapists and unintentionally injuring Deputy Dwayne Looney (Bryan Cranston) with a ricochet, whose leg is later amputated. Carl Lee is arrested and Brigance agrees to defend him.

The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media attention. The district attorney, Rufus Buckley (Josh Brolin), decides to seek the death penalty, and presiding Judge Omar Noose (Anthony Hopkins) denies Brigance a change of venue to a more ethnically-diverse county, meaning that Carl Lee will have an all-white jury. Brigance seeks help from his defense team: law student Ellen Roark (Hilary Swank), close friend Harry Rex Vonner (Jon Favreau), and former mentor and longtime activist Lucien Wilbanks (John Lithgow), a once-great civil rights lawyer. Meanwhile, Billy Ray's brother, Freddie Lee Cobb (Colin Farrell), plans to avenge his brother's death by joining and enlisting the help of the Mississippi branch of the Ku Klux Klan and its Grand Dragon, Stump Sisson (J.K. Simmons).

On the first day of the trial, the Klan rallies, only to be outnumbered by counter-protesters consisting of the area's black and multiracial residents, as well as whites who support Carl Lee. The protest erupts into a violent riot that results in dozens of injuries and the death of Stump Sisson. The Klan also begins to target Brigance, assaulting his elderly secretary and her husband, who dies of a heart attack brought on by the assault. They also burn a cross on his lawn and threaten his wife and daughter. When Brigance refuses to back down, Cobb kidnaps and assaults Roark. The Klan then increases their attacks, including burning Brigance's house.

Dispirited, Brigance tells Carl Lee that there is little hope for an acquittal. Carl Lee replies that he had chosen him as an attorney because even a racist jury would listen to a white man; as "one of the bad guys," he has an influence that a black man will never have. During closing arguments, a deeply-shaken Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes and listen to a story. He describes, in slow and painful detail, the entire ordeal of Tonya. Brigance then asks the jury, in his final comment, to "now imagine she's white."

After deliberation, a black child runs out of the courthouse and screams, "He's innocent!" Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside. The Klan members, enraged, begin yelling in anger. Meanwhile, Sheriff Walls arrests Freddie Lee for his crimes, as well as a corrupt deputy who is also a member of the Klan and is standing next to the sheriff.

Brigance brings his wife and daughter to a family cookout at Carl Lee's house to celebrate his freedom.

Cast

 * Jake Gyllenhaal as Jake Brigance
 * Hilary Swank as Ellen Roark
 * Denzel Washington as Carl Lee Hailey
 * Josh Brolin as Rufus Buckley
 * Jon Favreau as Harry Rex Vonner
 * Forest Whitaker as Sheriff Ozzie Walls
 * Emma Thompson as Ethel Twitty
 * John Lithgow as Lucien Wilbanks
 * Colin Farrell as Freddie Lee Cobb
 * Anthony Hopkins as Judge Omar Noose
 * Claire Danes as Carla Brigance
 * Oprah Winfrey as Gwen Hailey
 * Sierra Aylina McClain as Tonya Hailey
 * Chris Elliott as Tim Nunley
 * Bryan Cranston as Deputy Sheriff Dwayne Looney
 * Ben Feldman as Billy Ray Cobb
 * Walton Goggins as James Louis "Pete" Willard
 * J.K. Simmons as Stump Sisson
 * Dennis Quaid as Dr. Wilbert Rodeheaver
 * Stephen Root as Dr. Willard Tyrell Bass
 * David U. Hodges as Bailiff

Rating
Rated R.