| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| 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 | |
Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, he is totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two Associates are murdered. The FBI contact him, asking him for information and suddenly his life is ruined. He has a choice - work with the FBI, or stay with the Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it. Mitch figures the only way out is to follow his own plan... Written by Mark Harding <mah@imdb.com>
Though not the best of the Grisham adaptations, this is up to the usual high standard in plot and stars that Grisham movies have become associated with. The plot on this one is a little more far-fetched probably on account of the fact that this was one of Grisham's first works, escapism and entertainment seem to be the most prominent here, other Grisham works had begun to develop other traits alongside populism, like being almost topical and seeming to make social comment on issues that Grisham must have had an inside eye on when he was actually involved in the legal business for all those years. The Rainmaker is a great example of this when a young lawyer takes on a pro bono case of a widow's suit against a rogue insurance company that wouldn't pay up on a claim for her son's illness, and who as a result died from it. You will find none of this in the Firm, it is the straightforward story of a young lawyer whose life becomes entangled in the law firm from hell, which has all the usual mafia connections and all the usual FBI hardball characters battling with the caricatures from the Mafia. It does however make great entertainment , you will soon forget how far-fetched and improbable it all is, as you will become instantly fascinated, and stick with 155 minutes of plot twists and turns.