An extremely powerful courtroom drama whose scope exceeds any John Grisham story that's hit the silver screen thus far. All the cast shines, particularly Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey. It's regrettable that the film doesn't leave it up to the audience to ponder the various moral questions instead of trying to force its own conclusions, but aside from this admittedly fundamental flaw, this movie is grand, engrossing filmmaking that ranks with the best in the genre.