outrageous demands and deciding that he must win at all costs. Pressures take their toll, with Jan and his partners going deeply into debt. After a lengthy trial, the case is dismissed in favor of Beatrice, after Jan turned down an offer of $20 million from Beatrice attorney Jerry Facher during jury deliberations. The plaintiffs are forced to accept a settlement with Grace that barely covers the expense involved in trying the case, leaving Jan and his partners broke. The families are deeply disappointed, and Jan's partners dissolve their partnership, effectively breaking up the firm. Jan ends up alone, living in a small apartment and running a small-time law practice. He manages to find the last key witness to the case, but lacks resources and courage to appeal the judgement. The files are archived while Jan later files for bankruptcy. A postscript reveals that the EPA, building on Jan's work on the case, later brought its own enforcement action against Beatrice and Grace, forcing them to pay millions to clean up the land and the groundwater. It takes Jan several years to settle his debts, and he now practices environmental law in New Jersey. Cast Kathy Bates appears in an uncredited cameo in the final scene as the judge overseeing Jan's bankruptcy hearing. Filming The movie was shot in Boston, Massachusetts; Dedham, Massachusetts; Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts; Waltham, Massachusetts; Northbridge, Massachusetts; Palmer, Massachusetts; Fenway Park; Boston Public Garden; and Beacon Hill, Boston. Release Box office Despite showing promise on its initial limited release, A Civil Action was a box office failure on wide release, earning a domestic gross of $56 million against its $75 million budget. The film was released in competition with a number of films that became hits, earning between $120 and $290 million each, including Shakespeare in Love, The Prince of Egypt, Star Trek: Insurrection, You've Got Mail, Stepmom and Patch Adams. Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, A Civil Action has an approval rating of 62% based on reviews from 71 critics. The site's consensus called the film "Intelligent and unconventional." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 68 out of 100, based on reviews from 26 critics. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 out of 4 and wrote: "Civil Action is like John Grisham for grownups." References