Sure, everybody loves Matthew McConaughey now, but those same people that revel in the cinematic gold of the 'McConnaissance' were the same people who'd given up hope on the Texan-born actor after dire turns in Fool's Gold and Sahara. However, people tend to forget that in the mid-to-late nineties McConaughey turned in a few memorable performances that would later put him in such a position to make misjudged choices in the noughties. Many see 1993's 'Dazed and Confused' as his standout role, but his most vastly underrated performance (and underrated film as a whole) is the John Grisham adaptation, 'A Time To Kill'. The story follows Samuel L Jackson's vengeful father who murders two white men guilty of raping his young daughter, and the lawyer (McConaughey) who stands up to defend him in court. The case causes controversy and ignites the racial and prejudicial tensions of Mississippi in the eighties, whilst raising a very controversial question; can murder ever be justified? Perhaps it was the lack of an Oscar nomination (in a year that also saw heavyweight contenders like Titanic and LA Confidential) that has left 'A Time To Kill' doggy-paddling in the ocean of obscurity, struggling to remind people that in any other year, its superb cast (that also includes Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Donald Sutherland, Oliver Platt and Kiefer Sutherland) and its Oscar-baiting themes would have made it a memorable classic. It certainly deserves it.
