Trials are a corruption of the entire process and only fools who have something to prove end up ensnared in them. Now when I say prove, I don’t mean about the case, I mean about themselves.
Why it’s a left-wing film
Though based on a true story, what you have here is Hollywood once again cherry picking the true stories they choose to tell in order to reaffirm a political agenda. In this case you have a sleazy ambulance chaser emerging as selfless hero in the fight against big, arrogant corporate attorneys and uncaring multi-national corporations. And if that’s not bad enough…
In the end, after our intrepid personal injury lawyers are unable to beat the big bad corporate America wolf with anything more than a face-saving settlement, in comes the ultimate left-wing hero to save the day. Enter, bum, bum, bummmm… BIG GOVERNMENT! Yes, whatever would we do without the benevolent Environmental Protection Agency.
Again, “A Civil Action” is based on a true story and by all accounts, unlike the bogus “Erin Brockovich” suit, the facts of this case stand true. So my argument is not with the movie itself or this specific case. By all accounts this was a real tragedy, where due to toxic poisoning in the groundwater, a lot of people got sick and died, including children.
My argument is, however, with Hollywood’s relentlessly out-of-context, choosing of only these kinds of stories to build up the drip-drip-drip effect necessary to craft an unfair and dishonest narrative that always portrays corporate America as homicidal maniacs. As an example of how out of whack Hollywood’s lack of context is, I know of no American corporation responsible for as many deaths as the EPA’s politically motivated decision to ban DDT in 1972.
Where’s the movie about that?
That’s a rhetorical question. And here are some more…
Where are the David and Goliath films about the man who built his business up from nothing only to have it destroyed by a feeding frenzy of greedy trial lawyers bankrupting him with frivolous environmental and discrimination lawsuits? Where are the movies about the family businesses destroyed by bullying unions and an overbearing federal government led by predator attorneys, soulless bureaucrats, and self-righteous Marxists disguised as environmentalists?
People love David and Goliath stories and if the stories are based on real events, all the better. At least that’s Hollywood’s rationale for the never-ending treadmill of films making corporate America out to look serial killers in search of profit. What Hollywood willfully ignores, naturally, is that there are other underdog stories out there to be told, stories to remind us that when you’re a small to mid-size business owner, one of the good guys creating jobs and helping others to realize the American dream, the EPA, Greenpeace, and the IRS are frequently the ruthless Goliaths to your David.
Why it’s a great film
Though far from a box office hit and not even widely praised by critics upon its 1998 Christmas Day release, in my seemingly lone opinion, “A Civil Action” is one of the last great left-wing narrative films to come out of Hollywood. Over the years I’ve expected its reputation to grow, but I still seem to be the film’s sole champion, writing and talking about the under-appreciated gem whenever the opportunity arises.
Directing only his second film, Steve Zaillian (one of Hollywood’s most respected screenwriters and winner of the Academy Award for his work on “Schindler’s List,” one of the greatest screenplays of all time) wisely gathered together legendary cinematographer Conrad L. Hall and a truly remarkable cast of actors for roles both big and small to put his screenplay (based on Jonathan Harr’s book) in the very best of hands. John Travolta, The Mighty Robert Duvall (who was nominated for his performance), William H. Macy, Tony Shalhoub, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, James Gandolfini, Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack, and the great character actor Dan Hedaya are all given memorable moments to shine in the story of Jan Schlichtmann (Travolta), a selfish, self-involved, cold, calculating and successful personal injury attorney whose small firm is eventually run out of business after filing wrongful death lawsuits against two corporate giants responsible for a tragic series of fatal illnesses caused by toxic poisoning.
Critics who would normally be friendly to the film’s agenda might have been put off by what they saw as a fairly formulaic narrative. The story of a mercenary attorney regaining his soul and humanity is certainly nothing new, nor is the leftist trope of the underdog vs. capitalism. But I’ve personally always seen the story as something a little more complicated and richer than that. Those dots certainly do connect, just not in as straight of a line as respectable but unremarkable films like “Class Action.”
Due to a close proximity to the raw emotional anguish felt by clients who have lost children, there’s no doubt Schlichtmann becomes a better human being during his journey through the class action suit that will ruin him financially. What ultimately brings him down, though, is not as simple as a reformed man trying to make his way through the eye of a needle by going all in financially on behalf of his clients. What makes Schlichtmann fascinating is that as his heart softens his pride hardens, and ultimately it’s the pride of misguided idealism that keeps him from accepting settlement offers that in some cases are more than double the amount he’s ultimately forced to accept when he finds himself out of resources.
Travolta’s dynamite in the lead role, a live-wire of contradictions; a man yearning for respect and dignity in a profession where such qualities don’t pay the bills. A greedy man who also wants to do the right thing but — because acceptance feels like a defeat — he’ll still counter-intuitively refuse settlements that would satisfy both of those needs The new Schlichtmann doesn’t want money, he wants the respect that comes with overwhelming victory on behalf of his deserving clients. Zaillian never allows you to crack the code of this character and in the end, in the memorable final scene where Schlichtmann himself is unable to explain what happened to his life, you at least know you’re not alone.
Robert Duvall, as Schlichtmann’s chief nemesis, attorney for the defense Jerome Facher, is also a wonder to behold.
Duvall wraps his ruthless, wily shark in a quirky, sometimes spacey Red Sox fanatic who on first glance comes off as your doddering old grandfather, the one no longer employed as a bookkeeper but can’t end his habit of dressing the part and eating a packed lunch out of his old briefcase in the park every day. Just as good is William H. Macy as the money man playing every conceivable angle to keep the small firm alive as the bills for discovery bury everything he and the partners have worked for.
But not only do you have remarkable performances and a deceptively complicated protagonist filling out what’s arguably a fairly formulaic story, you also have a dozen-plus amazing scenes used in the telling of that story, and these are the moments that really sell the film for me. A majority of the best scenes involve Duvall but watching Sydney Pollack’s passive-aggressive character psychologically destroy Schlichtmann with patronizing kindness during a lawyerly sit-down is just a great piece of cinematic storytelling, especially in the department of screenwriting.
Great movies have a few great scenes. “A Civil Action” is loaded with them.
Finally, I’m a bit of a sucker for stories involving imperfect fools who lay everything on the line in the quest for something noble, be it the love of a woman, a righteous cause, or whatever — especially when they fail. Though I’ve always believed the concept of “quiet desperation” is a bullshit one spread by damaged types who need to believe everyone is as unhappy as they are, we do only have one life and it is meant to be lived. Sometimes you have to risk the money and pride and the threat of humiliation in the knowledge that living with failure is easier than living with regret.
What’s not on the list:
Thelma and Louise (1991): I’m a huge fan of this feminist road trip and have just never agreed that it was either all that political or anti-male. For starters, Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen both play sympathetic males in large supporting roles and while some (maybe even Calli Khouri’s terrific Oscar-winning script) might try to blame a male-dominated society (I wish) on the misfortune of our two vigilante armed robbers, that’s not really the message you’re left with after the ladies drive off that cliff. Thelma’s stupid choices plus Louise’s psychological issues are the duos real undoing, not buffoonish husbands and boorish truck drivers.
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