The Client (1994)

A young boy who witnessed the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to protect him when the district attorney tries to use him to take down a mob family.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

John Grisham (novel), Akiva Goldsman (screenplay),

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Sarandon	...	Reggie Love
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Roy Foltrigg
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Dianne Sway
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Barry Muldano
J.T. Walsh	...	McThune
Anthony Edwards	...	Clint Von Hooser
Brad Renfro	...	Mark Sway
Will Patton	...	Sgt. Hardy
Bradley Whitford	...	Thomas Fink
Anthony Heald	...	Trumann
Kim Coates	...	Paul Gronke
Kimberly Scott	...	Doreen
David Speck	...	Ricky Sway
William H. Macy	...	Dr. Greenway
Ossie Davis	...	Harry Roosevelt

Storyline

Mark Sway is an 11 year old boy who lives with his mother and brother in a trailer. One day he and his brother are hanging out when a car pulls over beside them. The driver then sticks a hose in his exhaust and puts the other end into the car. Mark pulls it out. But the man sees him and grabs him and takes inside the car. The man talks to Mark then later shoots himself. The shock sends Mark's brother into a catatonic state. The police question him and slips out some stuff that makes them think he's saying more than he knows. Roy Foltrigg, a prosecutor with political ambitions tells Mark he wants to talk to him tomorrow. Mark feeling that he needs a lawyer, sees Reggie Love. Mark tells him about the man who killed himself. Reggie tells him he's a mob lawyer. And one of his clients is a member of a mob family who is suspected of killing a Senator who was trying to take down his family. But because the Senator's body is missing, they can't prosecute him. Reggie thinks Foltrigg thinks the...

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | senator | brother | mafia | boy | 

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Taglines:

A District Attorney Out For A Conviction. A New Lawyer Out Of Her League. A Young Boy Who Knew Too Much.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a child in jeopardy and brief language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

El cliente

Filming Locations:

Clinton, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£2,100,033 (UK) (11 November 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Regency Enterprises, Alcor Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the time of the film, the only prior acting experience Brad Renfro had was a school production about D.A.R.E (Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education). Renfro was arrested and convicted several times for drugs possession prior to his death in 2008.

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Goofs

When Romey re-inserts the hose and handkerchief into the tailpipe (after Mark removed it) his fingers and hand touches the tailpipe a number of times. This is impossible without burning the fingers. Also, the handkerchief after coming out of the tailpipe is as clean as when it went in.

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Quotes

Mark: Thanks Rev. Roy, you've been a real pain in the ass.
Roy: Thank you, son. I can assure you, you have been an even larger pain in the ass.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.217 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"St. Louis Blues"
Written by W.C. Handy (as William C. Handy)
Performed by Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans, LA
Courtesy of Sony Classical
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Heroism very new/very old

Mark Sway is a real hero here, although he is not only a mere child, but a disadvantaged child in the middle of adult power structures breathtaking in their deviousness and casual cruelty. The theme of youngsters forced by circumstances into adult roles and responsibilities, particularly in being more level-headed and mature than their parent(s) has become as strikingly common in contemporary literature as it was strikingly uncommon until about a generation ago. But there are ample parallels to real life in pre-Romantic history. It is really our modern assumptions of prolonged childhood and adolescence which are abnormal in the fuller perspective of human experience. Aren't we on the verge of these concepts' retreating from the apogees to which western culture pushed them in the 19th and early 20th centuries?

If so, this film is on the cusp of the trend. Yet it might never have worked but for the director's good fortune in locating Brad Renfro for the lead role. What a find! His earthy, protean spunk and obliviousness to any cute brown-nosing towards his elders, simply because they are elders, make him entirely convincing in the part. He is, I hope, on his way to being a great actor, but perhaps it will continue to be this film which shows his freshness most clearly.

Not that it isn't very taut cinema in other regards. The build up of drama in the opening scenes is superb, with acting, cinematography, and the score all combining to provide a seamless experience. As one critic put it, it starts like a house afire, and the fire never goes out. This is a film one can see again and again, noticing additional fine touches each time.