Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.
A Civil Action is a solid but unremarkable legal drama that benefits from a strong true-story foundation and committed performances, particularly from John Travolta and Robert Duvall. The plot follows a familiar arc of idealistic lawyer consumed by a case, offering some genuine moral complexity but rarely transcending legal-drama conventions. Duvall earned an Oscar nomination and is the standout, while the broader ensemble is competent without being exceptional. Cinematography is workmanlike and functional, lending the film a prestige-TV feel rather than a distinctive cinematic vision. The film's novelty is limited — the corrupt-industry lawsuit genre was well-trodden by 1998, and despite the real-world gravitas of the Woburn contamination case, the film hews closely to formula. The ending is notably downbeat and morally ambiguous, which is one of its stronger qualities, resisting Hollywood resolution in favor of something closer to the complicated truth.