Power Suits Reflect Drama of Lawsuit

The Movie: “A Civil Action.”

The Costume Designer: Shay Cunliffe, whose credits include “City of Angels,” “Lone Star,” “Multiplicity,” “Mrs. Soffel” and the television series “Fallen Angels.”

The Setup: True story of Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta), a personal injury lawyer in Boston who takes on a daunting environmental lawsuit against two mighty corporations. One of his toughest opponents is attorney Jerome Facher (Robert Duvall).

You Should Know: The key players are all lawyers in dark suits, but the details tell all. Their shirts alone capture some of the drama. Schlichtmann, a self-confessed clothes horse, is the only one dressed in paper-white shirts. “I wanted him to glow slightly,” explains Cunliffe, who also gave Schlichtmann’s shirts “overly self-conscious” tab collars, monogrammed French cuffs and ostentatious cuff links. The designer then over-dyed not only his opponents’ shirts in ever-so-slight shades of pale gray or taupe, but also those of Schlichtmann’s own law partners.

Still, the shirts worn by Facher, Schlichtmann’s nemesis, are almost disturbingly dingy, especially when paired with the character’s dark, Dickensian suits and ties. Cunliffe dubbed the shade of Facher’s shirts “nicotine yellow beige.” Only attorney William Cheeseman’s (Bruce Norris) snappy striped shirts were left undyed. “I wanted to give him a little more ego, to make him a little bit more of a force,” Cunliffe says.

Finding the Travolta Look: “We had quite a few Armani suits at the beginning, but we did screen tests in them and they weren’t right. They looked fabulous and John loved them, but they have too much drape to belong in that ultra-conservative world where single-breasted Brooks Brothers suits are just it,” the designer explains. Besides soft suits, high-buttoning suits also were discarded. “Frankly, in L.A. and New York, they might be a power suit if you’re into the Prada look, but in Boston they wouldn’t fly.”

The suits of choice, by Zegna, Sulka, Canali and Calvin Klein, featured a classic, structured cut, whether single- or double-breasted, and were made of unpatterned, high-quality wools and cashmere with a slight sheen. Neckties were chosen for their conservative geometric patterns but rich, vibrant colors such as gold, red and turquoise.

Finding the Duvall Look: Cunliffe saw Facher as an eccentric old Boston Brahmin indifferent to the condition of his clothes. She figured he’d still be wearing shabby, skinny-lapel suits from the ‘60s, which she pulled from old costume house stock.

Even though Duvall agreed in concept, she was wary: For his initial fitting, she brought a rack of conventional new suits just in case. “Often an actor will say he wants to do something, but when he sees it he changes his mind. [Duvall] put on the first old suit and a very old, dingy shirt and a few really wretched overcoats and said, ‘This is perfect.’ He didn’t want to try anything else. I called [director] Steven Zaillian and [producer] Scott Rudin in to take a look, because usually there are criticisms and can-you-show-me-something-else? They both said, ‘Yeah, we got our look.’ I felt like, pinch me, this is a wonderful dream.”

Not to Be Ignored: the discrepancy between the worlds of people who live in suits and people who don’t own a suit--factory workers and plaintiffs in the legal battle. Many of the blue-collar workers appear dressed in their version of a good jacket, a beige windbreaker from JCPenney or Sears, worn with inexpensive dress slacks. For added realism, Cunliffe applied nearly imperceptible dirt and coffee stains, and used sandpaper to tear some of the stitching.

On the Cutting Room Floor: a scene in which Schlichtmann ruins his $900 crocodile tassled loafers in the mud at the contaminated site.