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Let's face it: John Travolta no longer looks the way he did
in "Grease". But, he's still a great actor, and now he's even
getting parts in which he actually acts (he's come pretty
far, huh?)
Travolta plays Jan, a personal injury lawyer - the really
blood- thirsty, leach-like, money hungry kind - until he takes
the case of Ann Anderson (Kathleen Quinlan) and her group
of parents who have lost children to leukemia or other unusual
health problems. They blame the city's water supply, claiming
it must have been contaminated with nasty chemicals from a
nearby factory.
After learning that the factory is a very small part of a
very large and very prosperous business empire, Jan sees the
case as a potential gold mine. As the case progresses, he
actually seems to start to care about his clients, although
you can never be sure whether or not it's an act.
When you think about it, some of Travolta's co-stars in "A
Civil Action" have better character development than he does.
(William H. Macy, have you noticed, always seems to play the
beaten-down, underdog roles. His desperate, close-to-broke
lawyer character here reminds me of his "Fargo" role, in which
he played a desperate, close-to-broke car salesman. Pick your
pity angle.)
Supposedly, "A Civil Action" is based on a true story (screenwriters'
definitions of "based" often tend to be a little different
than you would think, so I don't know how true-to-life it
is.) For the most part, this is a well-acted, interesting
story, and certainly held my attention. Although I wasn't
quite as impressed with "A Civil Action" as I was with some
legal thrillers, such as "The Rainmaker" (the best legal thriller
I ever saw on the silver screen), I still highly recommend
it.
My rating: 3 stars
Rating: PG (for some strong language)
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