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When we first meet Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) he is in the enviable position of being in the top five of the graduating law class of Harvard and is being wooed by the big law firms across the country. One such firm is a small and friendly firm from New Orleans, Bendini, Lambert & Locke. Mitch gets caught up in the offer of the six-figure salary, leased Mercedes, low-mortgage loan, and geniality of the company’s partners and associates. So, he and his beautiful young wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) move down South to start what should be a magnificent career for the brilliant young attorney.

Of course, if this was the end of the story we wouldn’t have much of a movie. As Mitch slowly starts to find out, all is not well in legal paradise. Mitch is assigned a mentor in the form of Avery (Gene Hackman), a charming, womanising, and rebellious and cynical partner of the firm. Slowly Mitch starts to develop suspicions about the integrity of his new employer. This gets worse when the FBI approaches him after two lawyers are killed in a boating accident. They reveal a secret of the firm that will change the life of Mitch McDeere forever. He now finds that he cannot stay with this company and stay out of jail, and yet to try to leave could result in his death.

The movie’s plot development is great. The action moves along at a quick pace whenever the story gets to cerebral, and gives us some breathing room when the action gets a little overwhelming. The characters in the film are solid and not one-dimensional. They all exhibit characteristics that we come to know them by, and yet director Sydney Pollock resists the urge to keep them one-dimensional, allowing the actors to develop the characters nuances. The best part though, is the dialogue. At no point does the dialogue become dull or unnecessary. All the conversations are mysterious, funny, intriguing, or moving. No words were harmed or abused in the creation of this film.

While all the performances are convincing, special mention has to go to the supporting cast. Gene Hackman is his usual brilliant self. Ed Harris is great as the tough FBI agent trying to get Mitch to break his attorney-client privilege and testify against his firm and their clients, as is Wilfred Brimley as the firm’s chief of security. Jeanne Triplehorn’s performance, along with the rest of the cast, is natural and fits in perfectly with the rest of the exemplary performances. Holly Hunter is magnificent as the gum-chewing, ass-wiggling, smart-talking secretary of a private eye who has become involved in Mitch’s affair.

If you haven’t read the book, don’t bother. There is nothing there that you cannot find here that is better. If you have read the book, see the film anyway. Afterwards, you will be able to say “I read the book The Firm and I saw the film The Firm, and the film was definitely better. Actually, you probably will not want to say that (even though it is true). I just wanted an excuse to use the phrase “the film The Firm”.

For Hollywood BitchSlap, I’m the Godfather.

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originally posted: 07/03/01 22:24:27
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