The Pelican Brief (1993)

Overrated and overhyped

Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

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.

Between this movie and The Firm, both of which are terrible, Grisham refused to approve any screenplay he wasn't involved in. I suppose if you've never read the book the movie might have some entertainment value. If, however, you loved the book you'll find so many things wrong with this movie.

I learned today of Sam Shepard's death, and it moved me to write a review of The Pelican Brief, one of my favorite movies from the 90s. It's hard to believe it was almost a quarter of a century ago that this classic was released.The James Horner soundtrack is haunting and memorable, and kind of reminds me of his Sneakers soundtrack.I thought the forces of political correctness dictated the plot. There was a scene where the characters of Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington were to have sex, but I understand the writers changed their minds due to political correctness. It would have been politically incorrect if the two characters had slept together I guess.

Intrigued by the coincidental assassination of two supreme court justices, a law student comes up with a conspiracy theory that lands her in trouble when it turns out that her hypothesis is correct in this legal thriller written and directed by Alan J. Pakula from a novel by John Grisham. The skilled craftsman behind 'The Parallax View' and 'All the President's Men', Pakula knows how to helm a good paranoia thriller and there are several superb sequences here that showcase his craft. The best of these has an incognito hired assassin walking hand-in-hand with the film's oblivious heroine; Pakula drums up much tension by dragging out the assassin slowing reaching for a gun he has hidden on his person. 'The Pelican Brief' is not, however, a paranoia thriller in the strictest sense of the term. There is no real mystery element at all (despite the 'Mystery' genre listing on IMDb). It is always clear who the bad guys are and it is also always obvious that the protagonist's life really is in danger. In short, the film lacks the ambiguity and uncertainty that renders something like fellow 1993 Grisham adaptation 'The Firm' so dynamic. The film misses the mark with an overly sentimental ending too, but the acting is at least solid from all concerned. Leads Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington have great chemistry together without ever the suggestion of romantic sparks, and John Lithgow, Told Goldwyn and Stanley Tucci are all in fine form. The film is invariably exciting at times too. It is just not all that one might expect from a project with Pakula and Grisham's names both attached.

I have to tell and affirm that movies made in the 90's have more substance and intelligence than recent ones. The movie is centered on intelligent discussion, so you need to concentrate to follow the plot. Though I haven't read John Grisham at all, I love the movies based on his novels. So far have watched A Time to Kill, Runaway Jury, The Firm, The Client; and I think the legal elements make the thriller more exciting.Being a fan of Denzel Washington, he aptly fits into the role and love the way he moves confidently, with practiced ease. Julia Roberts looks pretty, and gives a commendable performance as the scared legal student on the run. When she remarks her brief was 'ludicrous', I never expected it to form the crux of the plot (though the movie was titled about a brief), I mean what can a law student discover that the FBI cannot? But that's the way John Grisham thinks, and it's interesting.I was a bit disappointed that there were no court scenes as I love courtroom dramas. Nevertheless, the movie keeps you at the edge of the seat, as you keep trying to find out who were the perpetrators of the murder. I found myself wanting to know more even after Roberts reveals the content of her brief to Washington, and was quite satisfied in the end.