'Gut-wrenching' film with 'stellar cast' free to watch on TV tonight

A "gut-wrenching" film with an impressive cast is available to watch for free on TV tonight.

Thriller A Time to Kill first aired in 1996, starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey. It also featured father-son duo Donald and Kiefer Sutherland in supporting roles and saw Octavia Spencer make her film debut.

Based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name, A Time to Kill follows the trial after two racists brutally rape and attempt to kill a ten-year-old black girl.

They're arrested but when the possibility of them walking free arises, her father (played by Samuel L. Jackson) opens fire in the courthouse, killing the two defendants in an act of revenge.

When he is later arrested and the case takes the nation by storm, young lawyer Jake (Matthew McConaughey) defends him, leading to political and social tensions and both their lives under threat as the KKK take to the streets to protest.

The film, which will air on Film4 at 9pm tonight, left viewers heartbroken.

One said: "This movie was absolutely gut-wrenching-10/10. The acting was superb. Make sure you have a box of Kleenex ready for Matthew's closing statement in the courtroom; it's unforgettable."

Another said: "Top notch in every way. Huge stellar cast. It's from a John Grisham novel so you know it'll be an interesting, captivating story. TERRIFIC film!"

"Great movie to watch. Emotional!" a third wrote, while someone else commented: "This movie was honestly amazing. It had me emotional, and I couldn't stop thinking about it after. The story was tragic and intense, and the cast was incredible."

Another called it "underrated", while someone else said: "Easily the greatest court room drama ever written and directed. Stellar cast and perfect acting."

Jackson previously commented that he should have received an Academy Award for A Time to Kill, and the reason he missed out was due to cut scenes.

"In A Time to Kill, when I kill those guys, I kill them because my daughter needs to know that those guys are not on the planet anymore and they will never hurt her again - that I will do anything to protect her," he told Vulture.

"That's how I played that character throughout. And there were specific things we shot, things I did to make sure that she understood that, but in the editing process, they got taken out."

He remarked that the final edit made his character look like he "planned every move to make sure that I was going to get away with it."

"When I saw it, I was sitting there like, 'What the f---?'" he added, before saying: "But the things they took out kept me from getting an Oscar."

"My first day working on that film, I did a speech in a room with an actor and the whole f------ set was in tears when I finished. I was like, 'Okay. I'm on the right page.' That s--- is not in the movie!"

He claimed that he believed his scenes were cut because "it wasn't my movie, and they weren't trying to make me a star."

A Time to Kill airs on Film4 at 9pm tonight