Harry here bringing y'all Goldfinger's report on John Travolta's latest starring role in A CIVIL ACTION. We've been covering this one for a while now, and this is the first test screening of it, that I have heard back from. So read on with the knowledge that this is not the final print, did not have the final score and was probably a bit longer than what we'll all see this fall, so here ya go...

The large Kraut of much renoun - the German with a ton of money - the man from the Black Forest with the baddest Rolls Royce of them all - yes, I, Auric Goldfinger, have just seen A CIVIL ACTION.

It's a movie about a lawsuit filed against two large companies because of the deaths of 8 children in Woburn, MA due to lieukemia. Why would anyone sue two large companies? Well, seems that these companies were leaking toxic waste into the drinking water. Oops. Big mistake.

Now, you might be thinking "interesting idea for a court drama". Unfortunately, it's not an idea - it's real. This really happened back in the 1980's in Woburn, and inspired a book, "A Civil Action", written by author Jonathan Harr. Academy Award winning writer Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) wrote the screenplay, and directed the film. This is not his first directing job, he did the same thing for SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER.

So here's the rundown on the actors. John Travolta plays the personal injury lawyer who takes the case, and goes up against the two big companies. Kathleen Quinlan is a mother of a deceased child who brings the case to Travolta's attention. (Note: she must have had a larger part in the film at one point - the cut I saw had her on screen for what must have been a grand total of 15 minutes. She felt underused, and I would have liked to see more of her character.) William H. Macy plays Travolta's partner in the law firm. Macy is an actor who is so deserving of every single accolade imaginable - I absolutely love the guy's work. Another amazing actor, Robert Duvall, plays the lawyer representing one of the big companies in the film. His role is filled with little eccentricities, which only Duvall can pull off convincingly. Other actors of note in the film include Dan Hedaya, Tony Shalhoub, James Gandolfini, and John Lithgow as the judge overseeing the court case.

There are some slow moments in the movie, but I found it to be pretty enjoyable. The problem was mainly with the audience - I got the sense that many of them liked it, but I heard a number of people complaining about how "down" the ending was. Now, I thought the ending was just fine - it not only made perfect legal sense, but it was also the verdict that Kathleen's character insisted she wanted to begin with. Also, it was REAL. Come on people - not everything is a sugar-coated doughnut! John Travolta's situation at the end of the film is not your typical ending - optimistic, but not all pink and fluffy. It's reality - deal with it! Enough of my ranting.

Zaillian does a fine job directing, and his writing is pretty darn good too - some of the dialogue was a bit too "wordy" to be realistic at times, but overall it seemed to be on the mark.

The music is going to be composed by Danny Elfman (as if he doesn't have enough stuff on his slate!), and I expect a score similar to ARTICLE 99 or DOLORES CLAIBORNE. Music used in the temp track ranged from the obvious (SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, SNEAKERS, TRUMAN SHOW) to the absurd (MIDNIGHT RUN, GETTYSBURGH, FIELD OF DREAMS). When a temp score overwhelms the images on the screen, you know there is a problem. While I love MIDNIGHT RUN, and was glad they put SOMETHING that Elfman had done in the temp, it was just overkill. Ease down!

So overall, I would recommend this film - if not for Travolta (who does a fine job acting as a lawyer who is caught in a moral conflict between doing what gets the most money and doing what is right), then definitely for Duvall and Macy. I can only hope that these two guys work in another film together. One quick note - this is Disney's (well, Touchstone Pictures, really) high hopes film for the Academy Awards. (Don't expect ARMAGEDDON to get anything except technical award noms, like Sound and Visual Effects.) Their best bet would be adapted screenplay by Zaillian, best supporting actors Macy and Duvall, and maybe editing and music (depending on what Danny gives us). We'll find out - the film is due out in theaters on Christmas Day.

Until next time,

Goldfinger disney high hopes for Academy Nom.