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:

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:

The scene where Mitch McDeere meets with the Morolto mob in the Peabody Hotel was not filmed at the Peabody. The scene was filmed in a private apartment in the Shrine Building in downtown Memphis. The occupant of the apartment was paid to allow the studio to move out all of his belongings, and he stayed at the Peabody until the scene was filmed. The Peabody was not used in the scene because the hotel has an obstructed view of the Mississippi River, where as the Shrine is closer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cruise comes home with flowers to apologize to his wife, he has them hidden behind his back. In the next shot, moments later, he reveals them with the other hand.

Quotes:

McKnight: He lied about his brother.
Avery Tolar: Wouldn't you lie about having a felon in the family to get a job like this?
Bill DeVasher: He ought to be kept on a short leash.
Avery Tolar: Why? You've got nothing to be suspicious about.
Bill DeVasher: I get paid to be suspicious when I've got nothing to be suspicious about.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Lisa the Drama Queen (#20.9)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Money, Money, Money

An excellent legal thriller. One of Tom Cruise's best performances.

In The Firm, Tom Cruise plays an extremely intelligent young lawyer who takes a job with a tremendous firm, having been seduced by their huge financial offerings. "The Firm" begins to sound very creepy very early in the film, when it becomes known that `the firm' has never had a divorce, `the firm' encourages children,' `the firm' is a big, happy, 41 member family. Unfortunately, it seems that another interesting little side note is that no one has ever left `the firm' and lived.

Mitch McDeere (Cruise) is hired by `the firm,' and at first, everything is great. The firm loves him enough to pay back all of his student loans all at once, and he is completely taken in by everything, even down to the way that the firm furnished his new house, in his beautiful new neighborhood (`To make you feel at home. Hope you don't mind.'). The lives of Mitch and his wife Abby (Jeanne Triplehorn) are completely and drastically changed when he is hired by the firm, setting up a disorienting atmosphere, especially when strange things start happening, people getting killed by boat bombs and whatnot.

Gary Busey plays a small, seedy role, and it works really well because he's best at playing seedy characters. Ed Harris also delivers a good performance as an FBI agent trying to coerce McDeere into helping them investigate the big bad firm. It seems that McDeere has been helping the firm in its illegal activities, making him guilty without him even knowing about it. If he doesn't help the FBI, he'll go to jail with the other 40 members of that big, happy family.

The Firm really gets going once McDeere starts trying to investigate, making copies of incriminating files, etc. Some things may have gone a little too far, like the conveniently placed pillow truck, but as a whole, The Firm is a great thriller. It may not be quite as good as other John Grisham adaptations, The Rainmaker, in particular, but The Firm's complex and fascinating plot, as well as good direction and acting, makes it way above average.