The Firm

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, David Stathairn, Gary Busey, Tobin Bell
Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1993

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A hotshot young lawyer (Tom Cruise) goes to work for a prestigous law firm in Memphis. As he works hard to succeed there, he begins to suspect the firm is involved in work that may not exactly be legal. And, he begins to see that once you are in the firm, you cannot leave.

Review:

Tim: The first John Grisham novel to be adapted into a film, The Firm is a tightly structured, fast-paced legal thriller. This is an intelligent, suspenseful movie. I really enjoyed the story, the cast, and the direction. While there are some flaws that ensure this movie just misses out on greatness, this is still a very solid drama/thriller.

The story is pretty interesting, as you would expect from a Grisham story. A young, brilliant, ambitious lawyer goes to work for a law firm that has some major secrets about its business. Grisham does a great job of putting everyday people into extraordinarily difficult situations, and that does indeed happen here. There is somethng exciting about seeing a protagonist going up against overwhelming odds and trying desperately to find a way to make it through.

Sydney Pollack does a very good job with the movie here. This film is exciting, well paced, intelligent,and entertaining. I enjoyed it very much. I do wonder why the film needed to clock in at 154 minutes. I wouldn't have minded it being cut a little bit back. It is a chore to get through. Still, the length does make this feel like a bit of an epic law thriller. The story is pretty convoluted, and although not difficult to follow, it certainly requires a great effort to keep everything straight. I admit a few times I had to remind myself of what exactly was happening. I wouldn't have minded the story being slightly more accessible.

Pollack does have a terrific cast to work with. Tom Cruise was absolutely perfect as Mitch McDeere. He is believable as a brilliant lawyer, as an overly ambitious man, and as a husband. I thought he was terrific in this film and showed what an excellent actor he can be. He was, without a doubt, the right actor for this part. His presence and performance greatly help this film.

The supporting cast is very good, too. Jeanne Tripplehorn is very good as Cruise's wife. Although I didn't love her in this role, I admit she did a very good job, so I will not complain. Gene Hackman is always, alwasys good, and he gives another impressive performance here. He works very well with Cruise, but his scenes with Tripplehorn might be even better. I also loved seeing Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris, and Gary Busey in important roles. I enjoyed Holly Hunter's energetic performance, although I am really surprised that her 6 minutes of screen time were enough to get an Academy Award nomination. I would not have given her the nom, although I did enjoy her performance, so I'm not too upset. I also thoroughly enjoyed David Strathairn. He was so good that I wish he had more screen time. His scene with Cruise was one of the highlights of the film for me.

I really enjoyed the level of intelligence that went into this film. The story is not dumbed down for the audience, and it engages viewers on an intellectual as well as an emotional level. Pollack does so much right in this film that it could have been great. However, I felt like the length, the complexity, and an occasional lack of emotion hurt this movie a bit. Still, The Firm is a very good movie, and I desperately wish Hollywood would make more of these films. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Time to Kill, The Chamber, Runaway Jury, The Client