Continuity mistake: When the movie first begins, Jan is talking to radio talk show host Howie Carr, if you look really carefully at one of the shots, Howie has a pen in his hand that he is holding steady. In the next shot, he is twirling the pen in his hand. The next shot shows the pen steady again.
A Civil Action (1998)
Directed by: Steven Zaillian
Starring: Robert Duvall, John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tony Shalhoub, Kathleen Quinlan
Genres: Drama
Continuity mistake: When Jan races his Porsche to meet with the families for the first time, he speeds along a distinctive stretch of road towards Woburn. In the next scene, he is getting a speeding ticket while stopped on a bridge. After his meeting with the families, when he leaves racing away from Woburn, he speeds along the SAME stretch of road, only to be stopped again on the SAME bridge. The bridge should have been behind him as he reached that stretch of road leaving Woburn, not ahead of him. (00:09:10 - 00:11:30)
Character mistake: The complaint that Robert Duvall is reading has a very obvious typographical error describing the decedents' conscious pain and suffering, 'concously'.
Jan Schlichtmann: So what are you saying? You want to get out now and cut our losses, you want to get out now and throw away...? What was it?
James Gordon: 1.4 million dollars.
Jan Schlichtmann: Well, I don't know what to tell you because there's things I need to prove and I can't do that not spending money.
James Gordon: We have to go see uncle Pete.
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