How many of John Grisham’s fictional legal novels have been adapted to the silver screen and lost their luster in the process? --Nearly all of them (i.e. The Firm, Runaway Jury, etc). Only in rare cases do movies go out of their way to outweigh or even match the effects and intentions of their textual basis. This transitional book-to-film loss is especially typical in storylines found under courtroom settings. However, A Civil Action, based on a true story and adapted from Jonathan Harr’s book of the same title, is not your average Grisham law novel turned screenplay, where the dramatic courtroom twists and turns, through testimony and legal actions, seem overly melodramatic, and where predictable triumphant revelations always abound; instead, it is an intelligent legal drama/thriller with a great overall cast that does not disappoint.
John Travolta plays Jan Schlichtmann, a personal injury lawyer and one of Boston’s ten most eligible bachelors. Jan ends up taking an “orphan case” (a case that has been passed around from firm to firm), which deals with the deaths of eight children—all due to several carelessly disposed of chemicals found in the local drinking water. It is not until Jan realizes the substantial financial gain, when he signs on and begins working in collaboration with his entire five-man firm. In an effort to win the biggest case of his career, against two very wealthy companies, and in an attempt to not lose everything, he must succeed and win his civil action suit—making a storyline and plot that is strikingly similar to the more recent Erin Brockovich.
This film’s all-star-esque cast assists in the overall impact of the film tremendously. Despite Travolta being a big name and a big-time actor, his lead role as Jan, who seems to wear the same three-piece suit, red tie, and black overcoat in every scene, is not very powerful or convincing. Then again, he does portray a lawyer; so maybe he is just skillfully fitting the stereotype. However, I believe that the once Danny Zucko, was in fact a miscast. Luckily Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, Tony Shalhoub, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quintar, and James Gandophini all make up for where Travolta lacks.
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