For much of the 1990’s, John Grisham’s novels dominated bestsellers lists. A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief, The Client, and The Firm are considered among his best. While all four were adapted into successful films, The Firm is by far, the best of the lot. Director Sydney Pollack’s vision is just as engaging, suspenseful, and well-crafted as the book. Wonderfully cast, perfectly paced, and hitting every note necessary for an honest-to-goodness thriller, The Firm is everything a good thriller should be.
Having just graduated in the top five of his class from Harvard Law School, lots of people are interested in employing Mitchell Y. McDeere (Tom Cruise). Fielding offers from top law firms, it’s a rather small one that eventually wins his services. Memphis’ Bendini, Lambert, and Locke make him an offer he can’t refuse—a starting salary of almost $100,000, a low-interest mortgage so he can buy a house, free use of a Mercedes, and repayment of his college loans. Naturally, Mitch and his schoolteacher wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) are thrilled at their good fortune.
Mitch is quickly thrown into work at the Firm, and is rarely home. Abby feels as if she’s losing her husband. Mitch travels to the Caymans with his “designated mentor” Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) and proves his worth to the firm. Things get really strange when two members of the Firm die under suspicious circumstances. Soon, Mitch begins to wonder what secrets lie behind the locked doors of Bendini, Lambert, and Locke.
Amazingly, Sydney Pollack is able to keep the viewers attention throughout the 154 minute running time without resorting to any obvious gimmickry. McDeere goes into a slow downward spiral as he learns more about what’s going on around him. He gets more and more agitated as he realizes that he’s caught between a firm that could kill him if he leaves, and FBI agents who will arrest him if he doesn’t provide them with certain information. It’s a no-win situation.
The Firm offers suspense, a couple of twists, a little bit of action, and lots of intrigue. The direction is tight, and the screenplay literate. The film is also boosted by a stellar supporting cast. Hal Holbrook plays Oliver Lambert, the senior and most sinister partner in the firm. Wilford Brimley is William Davasher, the firm’s deadly head of security. Ed Harris is Wayne Tarrance, an FBI agent on the trail of the sinister activities. David Strathairn plays Ray McDeere, Mitch’s older brother, serving time in a state penitentiary for manslaughter. Gary Busey makes a wonderful if all-too-brief appearance as Eddie Lomax, a seedy private eye. And Holly Hunter has a colorful role as Tammy Hemphill, Lomax’s secretary.
If The Firm has any negatives, it would be that it moves a bit slow at times. At 154 minutes, it probably could’ve been cut down a bit, but when all is said and done, its length isn’t a detriment. Sydney Pollack was always a master at the details, and this film is no different.
The film comes to Blu-ray in its native aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The colors are bright and beautiful. The definition is sharp, and detail is top notch. Black levels are solid, and there’s just enough film grain to give it that filmic appearance.
The lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack reproduces things very well. It is very clean, and dialogue is always discernable. There is some ambient bloom in the centers, and Dave Grusin’s score is evenly spread throughout.
We don’t get much in the way of special features. Only The Firm‘s teaser (1080p, 1:43) and theatrical (1080p, 2:39) trailers are included.
