Plot: Jan Schlichtmann is a successful lawyer whose practically his own entrepreneur. He's a humble bachelor with a nice car, a nice house, and a career that has amassed huge rewards. Not to mention being the founder and practice of the lucrative law firm he runs with his Boston partners, all in a case's settlement. However, when the families of deceased children sue a giant food conglomerate, with the accusation of their companies are responsible for poisoning their children and afflicting them fatally with cancer. Jan comes to the rescue, thinking it's one more case he can easily knock out of the park and make a fortune, as well as a name for he and his firm. With a class action lawsuit to file, Jan willingly puts himself and his firm as representatives of those families. However, it's one case that could ruin Jan: his pride, his ambition, and ultimately, his career. As the pressures of the case begin to take their turn on both the prosecution, the defense, as well as the families, Jan is about to realize that he has taken on the biggest case of his life, and there is a price to pay.
Alternative Plot: In this legal thriller based on a true story, John Travolta stars as Jan Schlichtmann, a tenacious personal-injury attorney whose fierce determination entangles him in a case that threatens to destroy him. The case -- which appears straight forward -- instead evolves into a labyrinthine lawsuit of vast dimensions, in the intelligent, fast-paced drama, "A Civil Action."
Rate this movie!