A Civil Action (1998)

On the surface, this appears to be a David vs. Goliath situation: Small-firm Boston plaintiffs lawyers are up against two corporations whose tannery, they've determined, is to blame for the deaths of eight children due to leukemia. However, at its foundation, this is a mature thriller about the deadly practical repercussions of demanding moral outcomes from a legal action more suited to risk-and-reward scenarios.

Jan Schlichtmann, the business's senior partner, is played by John Travolta with sincerity, and his fury propels the firm into a war of attrition against a better-funded rival. Robert Duvall is excellent as the oddball Jerome Facher, a corporate lawyer who foresees Schlichtmann's every blunder.

Facher gets the best lawyer line: “Pride has lost more cases than lousy evidence, idiot witnesses and a hanging judge all put together. There is absolutely no place in a courtroom for pride.”

Trivia: Nominated for two Oscars. Schlichtmann still practices law in Beverly, Mass.

Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Kathleen Quinlan, Tony Shalhoub