The Firm (1993)

Dreadfully Boring

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The Firm is a top notch legal thriller from Sydney Pollack based on the John Grisham bestseller. Tom Cruise- at the height of his wave- plays young hot shot recently graduated Mitch Mcdeere. He is a brilliant mind and all the top firms want him and he decides to go for Memphis based small firm. He is mentored by a cunning Gene Hackman as he comes to understand that this small firm has a sinister underbelly. Featuring great performances and a breezy plot The Firm was a big success then and is still a good film today.

I knew about this film because of the leading actor, and I knew it was something to do with lawyers, so I hoped it would be worthwhile, based on the book by John Grisham (The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker), directed by Sydney Pollack (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?; Tootsie, Out of Africa). Basically Harvard graduate Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) is an up-and-coming young man with a promising future in law, he is offered opportunities in law firms across America, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Mitch settles on small, boutique firm Lambert & Locke in Memphis, Tennessee, which specialises in accounting and tax law, he and his wife Abby (Basic Instinct's Jeanne Tripplehorn) move. One of the firm's senior partners, Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman), becomes his mentor and introduces him to the firm's professional culture, loyalty and strict confidentiality are demanded, and lawyers should be willingness to charge exceptional fees for their services. Over time Mitch is seduced by the money, gifts and other perks showered on him and his wife, but within a couple of weeks two lawyers are savagely murdered, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice approach Mitch and warn him that the firm he is working for is heavily involved in criminal enterprises for a Chicago mob family. Mitch is also warned that many young lawyers have been killed while employed by the firm, he soon confirms there is indeed corruption, racketeering, mail fraud, homicide and gross over-billing of clients by the firm. Mitch knows that he is trapped, he must help the authorities or face prosecution himself, or he must stay with the firm or suffer death from the firm security enforcers. Mitch and Abigail concoct a plan to hand over confidential files to expose the criminal activities of the firm to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, but the firm's sinister security agents, headed by chief Bill DeVasher (Wilford Brimley), are in hot pursuit of Mitch, they will stop at nothing to silence him and protect their interests. Also starring Hal Holbrook as Oliver Lambert, Terry Kinney as Lamar Quinn, Ed Harris as Wayne Tarrance, Oscar and BAFTA nominated Holly Hunter as Tammy Hemphill, David Strathairn as Ray McDeere, Gary Busey as Eddie Lomax, Steven Hill as F. Denton Voyles, Saw's Tobin Bell as The Nordic Man, Barbara Garrick as Kay Quinn, Jerry Hardin as Royce McKnight, Orphan's Margo Martindale as Nina Huff, Breaking Bad's Dean Norris as The Squat Man, Karina Lombard as Young Woman on Beach, Paul Sorvino as Tommie Morolto and Joe Viterelli as Joey Morolto. Cruise had tackled being in the courtroom in A Few Good Men, he is pretty suited as the rising young lawyer who discovers the dark side of his prestigious law firm, the star- studded cast all do their parts well also, I could just about follow the story, there are some suspenseful scenes of chases and the violent moments when the dodgy superiors get nasty, the only problem was that the film was a little long and the subject matter is a little dry, overall it is a reasonable legal thriller. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Music, Original Score for Dave Grusin. Good!

A hotshot young lawyer named Mitch (Tom Cruise ... who else would Hollywood cast as a hotshot?) accepts a job with a small law firm in Memphis, only to become trapped in a nightmarish maze of deceit and corruption. The plot has Mitch a little slow to catch on, but when he does he draws upon inner cleverness he previously lacked to set a trap himself.The script has several problems, not the least of which is Mitch's naivete when accepting the job. He tells his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn): "These are nice people, Abby". Turns out that Abby is more perceptive about these "nice people" than her high-income, hotshot hubby. The plot's first half is pretty good, with fine editing; the second half trends labyrinthine with tangled and convoluted plot elements that make the film hard to follow.Fast-paced, outdoor "action" towards the end is unrealistic and makes the film overly long. Most of the characters consist of annoying "beautiful people", hip, sophisticated, and rich; I was hoping most of them would die.Production values are terrific. Great on-location filming in Memphis is enhanced by polished outdoor photography. Interior sets look detailed and realistic. Nice, jazzy score if perhaps a bit loud. Casting is credible, though someone other than Tom Cruise might have brought more plausibility to the lead role. Performances overall add to a sense of professionalism. Hal Holbrook is always fun to watch. And I really liked Holly Hunter's performance as a two-bit smoking secretary with a heavy Southern drawl.Slick and sophisticated, "The Firm" was made during an era when audiences were still mesmerized with American wealth and corruption. It's a polished, perhaps too polished, production. Overall, the movie does have entertainment value despite an imperfect script.

Though some might think it's pretty slow paced -- and it really is, this movie is thriller all the way. It builds its story as the movie progresses (and it "progresses! a lot [154 minutes]) and I was entertained from the beginning until the end; and what an (add unexpected here) end.I read that some people thought the ending wasn't good, but I thought it reflected the whole movie's idea and message behind it. I thought it was a nice way to end it.This is a nice movie to watch on a weekend with a free, open mind. You might get surprised by how immersed you might get, as tension grows for each minute it passes.