THE FIRM. Directed by Sydney Pollack; written by David Rabe, Robert Towne, and David Rayfiel: produced by Scott Rudin and John Davis for Paramount. Starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Gene Hackman. Rated R.
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(Note: Your humble reviewer is one of the probably five or six adults in the Western World who has not read the book from which this movie is made. The following, therefore, will not be able to compare the cinematic product with the literary one. Sorry!)
The Firm has quite a pedigree. Besides coming from an ultra-bestselling novel, its director, writers and producers have been responsible for some outstanding movies. And the cast is top-to-bottom first-rate. Relatively small roles are played by such standouts as Holly Hunter, Gary Busey and Ed Harris; and the leads are just as good.
Now, all these credentials don't necessarily guarantee a blockbuster. But, in this case, everyone performs up to expectations. And the result is an entertaining thriller with well-developed characters, well-built suspense and even a worthwhile moral.
The lesson young lawyer Mitch (Cruise) learns is that if something looks to good to be true, it probably is. Fresh out of Harvard, Mitch is courted by some of the most prestigious firms in the country. Nobody offers him as much, though, as a small outfit in Memphis. He likes the town and the people, too; although his wife Abby (Tripplehorn) is a little suspicious of so much geniality.
Mitch would have done well to be suspicious, too. It turns out that no lawyer has ever left this firm to go on to greener pastures; unless you count heavenly pastures. And some of their biggest clients have somewhat shadowy sources of income.
Before the movie's end, Mitch has to contend with the mob, the Feds, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, the firm's security chief (in a masterpiece of casting-against-type, Wilford Brimley—you know, the oatmeal guy?!).
Cruise handles being center-stage for 2 1/2 hours well; he's appealing even when he's being naive about the firm's real business and he's fun to watch as he tries to outwit them. Abby is a strong character, refreshingly, not just a wife-as-prop. And Hackman, as usual, puts more depth and dimension than you'd expect into his character, a senior partner who is Mitch's mentor.
My favorites are the minor ones, though—Busey and Hunter as a private eye and his secretary, Harris as an eager Treasury agent, and David Strathairn as Mitch's brother.
And, what's even more remarkable than this fine cast, is the fact that they actually have time to establish their characters and put the plot's exciting complications on a firm footing. Now this means that the first hour or so might seem too slow-paced for some viewers. And some might think the movie's just too long.
But I enjoy watching good actors really getting to sink their teeth into good roles. And that's the best thing about The Firm.
July 7, 1993