MovieChat Forums > A Time to Kill (1996) Discussion > Didn't get the NAACP part

Didn't get the NAACP part

posted 13 years ago by Paramita1
9 replies | jump to latest

Sure NAACP had its own agendas, but if I were Carl Lee I could have used it to my advantage? And they have white laywers too. I don't understand why Carl Lee would reject them right away.

[–] puirt-a-beul 13 years ago

My impression was that he didn't trust them. They'd raised the money under false pretences (lying about where it was going), and were prepared to let his wife and children starve while they paid the money to their own chosen lawyer. They had their own agenda, and were pretty clearly jockeying for position to exploit him for their own purposes just as much as anyone else was.

I think I would have told them to go to heck, too.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] graham-167 13 years ago

I saw it on two fronts. First, bear in mind that Carl Lee was indeed guilty; if his lawyers put on a good solid technical case and argue the laws, he loses. His only real hope was to go for jury nullification - to convince them to ignore the law and find him not guilty anyway. He needed a lawyer who could mount a passionate, emotional argument rather than a strictly legal one - somebody who honestly cared about him and his case. The NAACP people didn't.

Also, since they were there to promote their own political agenda rather than help him you have to wonder what would happen if the NAACP guy decided that he wanted a guilty verdict? After all, an acquittal means that everything is pretty much over, but a guilty verdict would make Carl Lee into a martyr. They could spend the next ten years mounting appeals and campaigns over him.

[–] framedflowproductions 11 years ago

Because they were going to use him as a martyr. Their plan was to have him lose so that he can ignite the nation.

[–] Herreken 11 years ago

Lee did use the NAACP to his advantage. He ended up getting that money for his family & to pay Brigance.

DISPLAY thy breasts, my Julia!

[–] Ken1260 10 years ago

The NAACP didn't care about Carl Lee, they were just going to use him to rile up people and get those people to donate money so they could make money off those people who thought they really were doing something for Carl Lee.

It's the same reason Jesse Jackson shows up anytime a black person is accused of something so he can make people think he really cares about them when in reality he's only looking out for himself and how he can make a quick buck.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

Carl Lee is shown not to be stupid. He doesn't hide the fact that he wanted his choice from what he calls "the other side" to defend him and he's not averse to using and playing the system to pay him.

[–] queencat18 10 years ago

He didn't just need a "white" lawyer. He needed a white lawyer who was from the same town as he was. Southerners seem to not trust Northern lawyers as much as they do their own. It was wise using Brigance instead of a Northerner.

"Oh my God! You put a living room where the crack den used to be!"

[–] melissa-knive 10 years ago

From the book, he initially goes with them and then takes Jake back - there's a lot cut out of the plot that was in the source material, as usual, but I think they cut a few too many details. They've completely removed the character who got Carl Lee the gun and financed his defence.

[–] harryrstevens 8 years ago

Unfortunately there is often far too much material in a book to translate to the screen. This film is already 2 hours 29 minutes long, nearly an hour longer than a typical movie. While there may be some details that you think should have been included, the backstory to make the details have relevance could add far too many minutes to the film. Asking an audience to sit through 2.5 hours of film, especially a legal drama, is a pretty tall ask. Theater owners also are reluctant to screen a 2.5 hour film instead of a 90 - 100 minutes because they get at least one, sometimes 2 less screenings per presentation day, which means that much less revenue. After all the intention is to at least cover all costs to make & distribute a film, as well as hopefully make a profit, which helps finance subsequent films. The process of trimming a beloved book into a screenplay is fraught with difficult choices. Even then scenes may be filmed that don't make the finished print when it's clear they are extraneous or the film must be trimmed to meet distribution requirements, hence "Director's Cut" releases for DVD distribution that include scenes deleted to meet distribution requirements.