While watching A Civil Action I could not help compare it to Erin Brockovich. Both films are based on true stories of small towns where the drinking water has become so toxic people die. Both feature large corporation(s) fighting with armies of lawyers to hind there wrong doing. And both feature an underdog protagonist fighting for truth and justice. Erin Brockovich was a hit at the box office and A Civil Action a dud. The lesson here is make sure your audience cares about the protagonist and have a real happy ending.
A Civil Action features John Travolta as Jan Schlichtmann a hot shot personal injury lawyer who never takes a case he can't settle. he is widely successful in getting settlements out of companies without ever going to trial. Throughout the film Travolta provides a narration about the legal system.
After some reservations Schlichtmann agrees to take on a water pollution case against Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace and Company, because he sees the possibility of a big payday. But he is truly unprepared for the legal juggernaut these giant firms hurl at his small independent law firm. The film follows his attempt to get justice while avoiding being crushed by these legal and financial power of these corporations.
Unfortunately Schlichtmann comes across as a smooth talking lawyer from the beginning and we really don't care for him, even after he has a change of heart and picks up the noble cause of his clients. His newly found moral outrage clouds his legal judgement. His clouded judgement also impacts his three partners, but he barely notices. Travolta is excellent in the role, but he plays a character we don't really care for until it is too late. On the contrary Erin Brockovich's Julia Roberts plays a struggling single mom whom the audience latches on to the moment she appears on screen.
Kathleen Quinlan represents the group of families destroyed by the carelessness of these companies and she appears heart-broken in every seen, yet we never get to know her the way Brokovitch let us into the lives of the families struggling under the same situation.
Robert Duvall is a stand out as a seasoned lawyer who knows all the angles of liability law. James Gandolfini, in a pre-Soprano's role, stands out as a blue collar guy trying to do the right thing. And William H. Macy is excellent as Travolta's partner and manager of the law firm. It's his job to hold the place together as the case wears on and on. In the end they win a settlement, but the law firm has been destroyed. Their massive struggle is seen as failure. But in the last 10 minutes we do see how justice was finally achieved. In real life that's great, but in a movie, not quite as entertaining.
One of the things that made Erin Brockovitch successful were the moments of humor found in the deadly serious drama. A Civil Action has none of these moments. the entire affair is deadly serious and there is no levity to relieve the tension. I think this is a serious mistake by screen writer/director Steve Zaillian.
The film had one plus. It stuck straight to the story. There were no forced love interest or artificially created scenes of Schlichtmann experiencing domestic drama or a troubled love life to add dramatic tension to the movie.
I am still on the fence about this film. It was engaging, but left me wanting more.
At the Movie House rating **1/2 stars
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