The Firm (1993)

The first must-see film of the year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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-

Tom Cruise has the look of a young hot-shot lawyer so he fills the Bill as a new graduate who is sought after by some of the biggest firms in the country. He ends up joining a small but very successful firm. He does this because he feels this is a path to great success in the future. When a couple young lawyers are killed, it leads to the discovery that something is amiss. Soon Cruise gets in the middle of two forces, either of which could destroy his career. One is the FBI and the other is the firm itself. The key to this is how he can separate himself from the firm without disastrous results. John Grisham is a master storyteller and his books really translate well into films. This is no exception. There are times when I really find Cruise annoying, but mostly I think he is quite a good actor.

This is an example of Hollywood rewriting at its worst ! They changed this wonderful thriller of a book into a long boring commercial for the supposed high ethical standards of the legal community. A lawyer is willing to risk his life to protect client information?!? Nonsense ! The book is fast paced and interesting and yes the lawyers are just as sleazy as the mafia. This is not to say that all lawyers are sleazy but nor are they all saints. Some reviewers have said that the music was ridiculous and they are right. Unlike the book, the pace is so slow, that you will have the urge to start checking your email. Be sure to MISS this movie.

I give it a three for how many times I felt ANY kind of suspense as I seem to remember the book was a very exciting read...giving this a watch as I couldn't find anything else and since I enjoyed the book..((sound familiar??))...first of all as much as I think Tom Cruise is about as one dimensional an actor for that time it probably was a good choice since he was certainly bankable in the early 90's..however he truly shows no acting charisma in this... shows all the same facial and hand expressions that you will see gone into overdrive by Jerry MacGuire which got him to major ham status... The movie is too plodding and edited with so many inconsequential scenes it just sucks the life out of the suspense...the best actors in the film are actually the supporting cast from Holly Hunter to Ed Harris..even the great and understated Steven Hill gives you more to think about than three quarters of this movie as Cruise and Tripplehorne give us NOTHING to really care about with mopey facial expressions and Cruise's trademark "hold on I am thinking while staring the other direction and pointing my fingers and then standing with a perplexed look to mug for the cam in a manner WE KNOW somethings about to go down"...and then there is the score....where do I begin...the jazzy piano added NOTHING to the supposed suspense the book has created..I firmly expected a dance number to come out of nowhere in the middle of this....totally inappropriate music for this....Gene Hackman is...is......GENE HACKMAN....nuff said......the ending is just ridiculous anti-climatic and makes you think "are you SERIOUS?....to sum this up the best way possible..my favorite scene in the whole movie involved Gary Busey...chew on that for a second or three....LOL