Another reviewer on this board made a comparison of the film with "To Kill a Mockingbird", and although the same thought came to me while watching it, the similarity is never fully realized. In the earlier movie, a black man was found guilty of raping a white woman, and the stereotype of redneck Southern justice is essentially carried out. The better comparison I think, can be made with another film I just recently viewed, that being "Sleepers", in which a pair of thugs murder a former reform school guard who physically abused them while they were in their teens. The whole idea of social justice is stood on it's head in both films, and if the thought behind each movie is to make viewers feel conflicted about their outcomes, then they both succeeded.
Just like Gregory Peck's character in 'Mockingbird', Jake Brigance approached his job via a one on one relationship with the accused, a man who's ability to reason is shattered when his ten year old daughter is assaulted and raped by the side of the road, and left to die when a couple of degenerates decide to partake in some demented version of what they consider fun. However the character who perhaps straddles the line best between blacks and whites in the story is Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton), a black man who has the same keen sense of justice as does Brigance. He's unafraid to arrest the guilty perpetrators of the horrible rape of the ten year old Tonya Hailey (RaéVen Kelly), nor is he troubled about taking her father (Samuel L. Jackson) into custody for the shooting at the courthouse. I had the sense that he was a well respected man of Canton who saw his job as color blind in the eyes of the law.
In a way, the picture's most defining moment might have been saved for the very final scene. Following Carl Lee Hailey's (Jackson) impassioned dialog with his lawyer, one which inspired Jake Brigance to revamp his closing argument, we see Brigance and his family arrive at the Hailey home, as jubilant neighbors celebrate the acquittal. Taking to heart what it means to be truly accepting of others different from themselves, Jake confidently comes to terms with Carl Lee's persuasive suggestion by stating, "Just thought our kids could play together".
Just like Gregory Peck's character in 'Mockingbird', Jake Brigance approached his job via a one on one relationship with the accused, a man who's ability to reason is shattered when his ten year old daughter is assaulted and raped by the side of the road, and left to die when a couple of degenerates decide to partake in some demented version of what they consider fun. However the character who perhaps straddles the line best between blacks and whites in the story is Sheriff Ozzie Walls (Charles S. Dutton), a black man who has the same keen sense of justice as does Brigance. He's unafraid to arrest the guilty perpetrators of the horrible rape of the ten year old Tonya Hailey (RaéVen Kelly), nor is he troubled about taking her father (Samuel L. Jackson) into custody for the shooting at the courthouse. I had the sense that he was a well respected man of Canton who saw his job as color blind in the eyes of the law.
In a way, the picture's most defining moment might have been saved for the very final scene. Following Carl Lee Hailey's (Jackson) impassioned dialog with his lawyer, one which inspired Jake Brigance to revamp his closing argument, we see Brigance and his family arrive at the Hailey home, as jubilant neighbors celebrate the acquittal. Taking to heart what it means to be truly accepting of others different from themselves, Jake confidently comes to terms with Carl Lee's persuasive suggestion by stating, "Just thought our kids could play together".