The Firm (1993)

How sad is this?

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Excellent movie. Tom cruise is too handsome & talented ..Perfect adaption of novel .. imoressive background score & screen play , brilliant direction too..

RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Sydney Pollack based on John Grisham's novel, "The Firm" is a crime drama/thriller starring Tom Cruise as a top Harvard grad lawyer who desperately wants to leave behind his working-class origins and takes a high-paying job at a firm in Memphis. He and his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) are ecstatic in their affluent new world until clues mount up that the firm has a sinister side. Gene Hackman plays his mentor at the firm while Ed Harris appears as an FBI agent. Holly Hunter, Hal Holbrook, David Strathairn and Gary Busey are also on hand.This has long been one of my favorites from this genre. You really feel for McDeere (Cruise) & his wife as their utopia morphs into an inescapable hell. In the Washington DC scene you grasp how limited their choices are as they're caught in a crossfire between the Mob and the FBI. McDeere must use his wits, his knowledge and "golden connections" for them to get out unscathed, if possible. I always favored the piano score by Dave Grusin, which some have described as "bouncy." While you could call it that, it has different tones depending on the sequence. For instance, during the closing city chase it's driving and portentous. There's also a melancholic component when suitable. The positive side of the piano score is that it makes the film timeless. Consider quality movies from that general era which were horribly dated by conventional scores, like "No Way Out" (1987). THE FILM RUNS 2 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in Memphis, Tennessee; West Memphis, Arkansas; Cayman Islands; Washington DC; Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts. GRADE: A/A-

There are a lot of positives "The Firm" has going for it: great ensemble cast, intriguing lawyer/business plot line, & great ending that comes out of nowhere. Despite being a very "slick" Hollywood production, those "plusses" make the film interesting enough to enjoy from beginning to end.For a basic plot summary, "The Firm" sees young lawyer Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) & his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) courted in a prestigious fashion by a Memphis law firm. After being paired with mentor Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman), however, Mitch & Abby begin to put together the dark secret behind the existence of the firm...one which ultimately involves the FBI and much business intrigue.The plot of "The Firm" is its hallmark, to be sure. There are enough twists and turns to keep you interested from start to finish, and you'll never quite guess what might happen next. There are many business-ethics issues in play throughout the entire film, all of which are navigated very perceptively by director Sydney Pollack.The acting is also top-notch (if not a bit over-the-top at times). Besides those mentioned above, other names like Ed Harris, Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey, & Tobin Bell turn in good showings. There is hardly a dull scene in the entire experience thanks in large part of this enlarged acting crew.Thus, "The Firm" is a good "lawyer intrigue" movie that fails to rise to the status of, say, "A Few Good Men". It is very comparable to "The Devil's Advocate" in both overall success & material. A 3.5 star rating would be my exact choice, but I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt due to the plot-twists that surprised me and an ending that had me feel it was all worthwhile.

I don't have read a single novel from this author so i can't interpret his work but it's the second adaptation i watch after « Christmas with the Kranks » and i feel that he silently kicks the American society in the balls ! So after denouncing Christmas conformism and neighbors pressure, here he explains the prestige of law firms. When all other movies stop at their brilliant career and consider them as wealthy saints, those lawyers are just crooks, criminals, killers who knows how to lure and trap partners into their scheme ! So for sure it's original and in a way, the firm has offer the same devilish promise of a prestigious career than Al offers Keanu in the « devil's advocate ». The cast is really prestigious from always convincing Cruise to old tutor Gene, to dark Harris. Even the less important parts are well filled with « Deep throat », Don Sorvino, Busey and for sure Holly Hunter ! At first, you expect that she has very limited screen time but finally she becomes an essential player and she really gives originality and punch to a character would could have been transparent. The movie offers many outdoors locations as well and the sets are really beautiful (the firm building for example) and Pollack with his old style doesn't give us headaches with violent editing ! However 148 minutes are maybe too long and I don't have grasp the legal loophole that Cruise uses