The Firm (1993)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers (WGA):

John Grisham (book)
David Rabe (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Power can be murder to resist.

Plot:

A young lawyer joins a prestigous law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Plot Keywords:

Law | FBI | Lawyer | Mafia | Fraud

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 16	8:45 AM	AMC
Mon. July 20	7:15 AM	AMC

Cast

Tom Cruise	...	Mitch McDeere
Jeanne Tripplehorn	...	Abby McDeere
Gene Hackman	...	Avery Tolar
Hal Holbrook	...	Oliver Lambert
Terry Kinney	...	Lamar Quinn
Wilford Brimley	...	William Devasher
Ed Harris	...	Wayne Tarrance
Holly Hunter	...	Tammy Hemphill
David Strathairn	...	Ray McDeere
Gary Busey	...	Eddie Lomax
Steven Hill	...	F. Denton Voyles
Tobin Bell	...	The Nordic Man
Barbara Garrick	...	Kay Quinn
Jerry Hardin	...	Royce McKnight
Paul Calderon	...	Thomas Richie

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

125 Front Street, Downtown, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Tom Cruise's character has a brother named Raymond. This was also the case in Rain Man (1988).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Abby joins Avery in the Caymans, they sit at a table to talk. Her tropical drink shifts from one side of the table to the other as they're talking.

Quotes:

[showing Mitch photos of himself with a prostitute]
Bill DeVasher: Not just screwing, Mitch. All sorts of intimate acts, oral and whatnot, that can be particularly hard for a trusting wife to forgive and IMPOSSIBLE to forget.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hostage (2005/I)

Soundtrack:

Start It Up

Here's a new reason to hate lawyers!

Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) is persuaded to join a prominent Memphis law firm, and everything seems so perfect that you just know it's too good to be true. And it is. The firm works for the Chicago mob, and for anybody who tries to leave the firm after learning the truth ... well, need I say more? The FBI, personified by agent Tarrance (Ed Harris) starts leaning on Mitch to supply them with evidence, but he knows that he can't just hand over confidential information about his clients ... so what's a hotshot young lawyer to do?

Top-notch, slick, very classy legal thriller that is well-cast (and well-acted) right down the line. So engrossing, in fact, that it hardly seemed like two and a half hours went by while I watched it.

Pretty good piano-based music score, too.

The first John Grisham adaptation to reach the screen (although The Pelican Brief was released just a few months later), this was notably well done.

I give it eight out of ten.