Anyone who has ever read more than one John Grisham novel can tell you that they all play out roughly the same way. The protagonist, usually a lawyer (or intimately involved with legal work), finds himself in a high pressure predicament like discovering fraud, corruption or murder, and then races through the rest of the book with a few people in pursuit as they attempt to craft a clever plan that will prove their innocence and give them a happy ending. With such similar layouts, the film adaptations of Grisham’s books ultimately rely on the skills of the directors and actors to help them distinguish themselves from one another. The Firm, unfortunately, doesn’t do much to elevate itself, even with Sydney Pollack at the helm and Gene Hackman and Tom Cruise driving the plot.
Hotshot law student Mitch McDeere (Cruise) has a bright future. He has law firms all but begging him to sign with them and each has proffered him a lucrative offer, many of which would allow him and his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) to stay in Boston. Yet the one that ultimately draws him in is in Memphis and gives him and Abby all they could dream of, essentially handing them the American dream on a silver platter. Working under Avery Tolar (Hackman) and Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook), Avery thinks the whole situations is a perfect fit until the death of two associates at the firm sets off a series of events that enlightens Mitch to a dirty secret at the heart of the firm. Before he knows it, he’s up to his neck in FBI investigations (a la Ed Harris), secret affairs, and a fast-paced game of cat and mouse that could end badly for him and his convict brother (David Strathairn).
The plot, trimmed down to fit the film’s still long runtime of 154 minutes, has a few holes that make you scratch your head, but what really holds the film back are the characterizations. Tobin Bell plays a generic thug sneering and going about tying up loose ends in a way that should push it along but does little to add to the sense of danger. The majority of the suspense comes from triangle of deception between Mitch, the firm, and the FBI – but it’s never fleshed out well enough to be truly enthralling.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Two theatrical trailers for the film are all you’ll find, unfortunate considering the cast is alive and able to create commentaries and featurettes.
"The Firm" is on sale May 31, 2011 and is rated R. Drama, Thriller. Directed by Sydney Pollack. Written by John Grisham (novel), David Rabe (screenplay). Starring David Strathairn, Ed Harris, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Tobin Bell, Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn.
