OK so I thought I would try and do another post just before Christmas (or maybe two!) and then I might of course do one or two more over the festive period before the end of the year and I might try and pick a more seasonal one either before or after Christmas day. But for now I thought I would do a non-Christmassy one and this one will be on the legal thriller, The Firm based on the novel by John Grisham.
So without any further delay let's suit up and give this one a closer look....
And yep the usual warning: SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
Right so the films begin with its main character, Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) a young man who is about to graduate from Harvard law school is given several job offers from different law firms. Mitch however soon accepts a job offer from one firm, Bendini, Lambert and Locke who specialise in accounting and tax law in Memphis. Mitch along with his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) moves to Memphis and then sets the task of passing the bar exam. Mitch soon meets Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) who is Mitch's appointed mentor who introduces him to the culture of the firm and also its strict confidentiality and loyalty as well as to willingly charge astronomical fees for their services. Mitch soon becomes embroiled in his work which puts a strain on his marriage and to make matters more complicated when Mitch goes on a business trip with Avery to the Cayman Islands he ends up being seduced by a local woman. However on Mitch's return to America he discovers from the firm's sinister security chief, Bill DeVasher (Wilford Brimley) that the incident with the woman was a setup and it was created to keep Mitch quiet about what he knows about the firm.
Mitch also is approached by two FBI agents one of them being Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) who warns him that the firm is in fact corrupt and that one of their main clients is the Morolto crime family from Chicago. Mitch also discovers from another agent who meets with him that none of the junior employees of the firm who tried to leave, left alive. Mitch then faces the choice of either testifying against the firm by disclosing confidential information about the firm's clients to the FBI, risking disbarment or going to jail when the FBI take down the firm and the crime family if Mitch is able to stay alive. And its from here that Mitch devises a plan to try and keep himself alive and co-operate with the FBI to get the information they want aswell as to try and get his older brother, Ray (David Strathairn) out of prison before the firm get to him also.
THOUGHTS
As a thriller The Firm works pretty well and it is helped along by its strong cast and its story is also quite tense and gripping, which of course is based on the novel by John Grisham (who himself was/is a law attorney). Although it does have a sort of rags to riches feel to it with Mitch's character being the typical ambitious wannabe it still holds up well and as the circle closes in on Mitch with the pressure of both the firm and FBI breathing down his neck that's when the film becomes more and more engrossing.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES
Performance wise things are top notch in the film as its features a great cast which help the film out to no end.
Starting with Tom Cruise he puts in a fine performance as the ambitious young lawyer, Mitch McDeere who get's sucked into the firm and ends up having to play balancing act between the firm and the FBI, which endangers his life. Tom has some good scenes in the film such as the scene where Mitch pays his older brother, Ray a visit in prison and he says to him quietly "Hey Ray, wouldn't it be funny if I went to Harvard, you went to Jail and we both ended up surrounded by crooks". Another good scene is when Mitch with the firm's senior partners after his meeting with the FBI agent and he says to them "I just had an interesting chat with the FBI!" and one of the partners asks "What did they want?" and Mitch says "The secret files!" and they all slowly break up laughing. And after they finish their meeting "Who will we bill for this hour?" and Mitch says "How about the FBI?!" and laughs but after leaving he walks down the stairs with look of sheer panic on his face.
Then there is the moment where Mitch has dinner with Abby and he confesses his infidelity with the woman he met at the Cayman Islands. And Abby angrily asks "What are you telling me this?!" and Mitch says, ashamedly "Because I couldn't stand you're not knowing". Then after the moment where Mitch meets with one of the FBI agents, he speaks to speaks to another agent, Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris). And Mitch discusses his options saying " Let me get this straight: you want me to steal files from the firm, turn them over to the FBI, send my colleagues to jail...Breach attorney-client privilege, thus getting myself disbarred for life, then testify in open court against the Mafia...". And as Tarrance tries to say something Mitch stops him by saying "Let me ask you something: are you out of your fucking mind?!".
And lastly there is the scene (SPOILER!!!) where after Mitch manages to secure his life away from the firm by nailing his firm of being guilty of overbilling their clients he talks with Tarrance as he packs his bags. And Tarrance says "Man, I don't understand you. What did you do it for? You didn't win a thing!" and Mitch says "Oh, yes I did. I won my life back. YOU don't run me, and THEY don't run me!". And as Mitch then says to Tarrance "You want to know something funny? You actually made me think about the law. I managed to go through three years of law school without doing that!".
Gene Hackman is excellent as ever in his role as the smooth and suave firm lawyer, Avery Tolar, who acts as Mitch's mentor and he also has some good scenes. And for starters there is the scene when Mitch asks Avery what made him become a lawyer and Avery says "I used to caddy for lawyers and their wives on summer weekends. I looked at those long tan legs and just knew I had to be a lawyer. The wives had long tan legs, too!". Then there is the scene where Avery visits Abby at her school where she teaches and he asks her to come with him to the Cayman Islands "And whatever happens I promise, I take rejection well". And later there is the moment where Avery is drugged by Abby in her hotel room when they are at the Cayman islands and the next morning Avery tells Abby about Mitch's setup with the woman and he says "Abby, the girl on the beach was a setup. They do things like that, in case the other enticements don't work". And as Avery is rumbled by the firm's security chief, DeVasher, Abby says to him "What will they do to you?" and Avery wearily says "Whatever it is, they did it a long time ago".
Jeanne Tripplehorn is also pretty good as Abby, Mitch's loving wife but their marriage comes under strain when Mitch becomes more embroiled in his work and later when they learn of their possible fate at the hands of the firm. Jeanne has some good scene too that include at the start of the film when Abby comes home to their dingy apartment in Boston and Mitch having just got his offer from the firm, surprises her by grabbing her and kissing her. And Abby says to him "You better leave, my husband is due home any minute!". Another good scene is when Mitch after having learned about the true nature of the firm and having learned their home is bugged goes back home to Abby and he turns their stereo on and turns up the volume real loud and he hugs her and whispers in her ear what is going on and she shakes her head in horror and then runs out of the house. And Abby says "Everything single thing we've said or done since we've been in that house....nothing has been between us!". And lastly later on when Abby attempts to seduce Avery but he cottons onto it and grabs her he says "Why did you come here?! You're not being truthful!" and then Abby confesses "I'm here to get back at Mitch and because I'm angry at the firm for ruining our lives!". And Avery wearily says "Well that's better than the alternative" and Abby says "What alternative" and Avery says "That you came to see me".
Ed Harris is also excellent as the hot tempered FBI agent Wayne Tarrance who coerces Mitch into co-operating with the FBI in order to avoid going to jail. Harris also has some good scenes in the film such as when Tarrance meets with Mitch at a racetrack and he angrily says to Mitch "How about you get down on your knees and kiss my ass for not indicting you as a co-conspirator right now, you chickenshit little Harvard cocksucker?!". And Mitch says "I haven't done anything and you know it!" and Tarrance barks back "Who gives a fuck? I'm a federal agent! You know what that means, you lowlife motherfucker? It means you've got no rights, your life is mine! I could kick your teeth down your throat and yank 'em out your asshole, and I'm not even violating your civil rights!". Then there is the scene where Tarrance loses track of Mitch's brother, Ray, after he is released from prison and the FBI tail him. And in the scene Tarrance asks for his team to "Get me a map of Lousiana" and none of them respond so he shouts "GET ME A MAP OF LOUSIANA!!!". And later near the end of the film when Mitch saves himself from the firm, Tarrance moans about how getting the firm only for overbilling is not enough "Get 'em with what?! Overbilling, mail fraud?! Oh, that's exciting!". And as Tarrance is about to leave he asks Mitch "How the hell did you come up with mail fraud??" and Mitch says "It was on the bar exam!".
Holly Hunter who is always reliable in any film also provides a fine performance as Tammy, the sexy secretary to a private investigator, Eddie Lomax (Gary Busey) a former cellmate of Ray, who later helps out Mitch in his plan. Holly's good moments in the film include when during Mitch's heated conversation with Tarrance at the racetrack is recorded by Tammy who calls Tarrance's mobile phone and she says "Is this Wayne Tarrance?" and Tarrance says "Yeah, this is Wayne Tarrance" and Tammy says "So is this!" and she plays back the recording of his conversation with Mitch. And later there is the scene when Tammy meets up with Ray and she says to him "Mitch sent me to tell you the plan has changed" and Ray looks at her and says "I didn't know there was a plan" and she says "Well that's good because its been changed". And lastly there is moment where a bit of a romantic spark starts to develop between Tammy and Ray near the end of the film when he says "I love your crooked little mouth" and surprised she says "Well its not my best feature".
Hal Halbrook is also very good in his role as Oliver Lambert, the firm's senior partner and he has one of the film's best moments when Mitch is called into a room filled with associates of the firm. And Lambert says to Mitch "You think you're pretty smart, don't you? Well we've been told there is someone smarter!". And after a tense pause, Lambert says "You didn't get the highest score in the bar exam....you get SECOND highest score!".
Wilford Brimley is also pretty good as the sinister DeVasher, the firm's head of security and he has some good scenes too. And they include the moment where DeVasher who is keeping a close eye on Mitch, says "What do you think I am a fuckin night watchman?!" and Avery sarcastically says "Sometimes I get confused" and DeVasher sharply says "Well don't!". And then there is the moment where DeVasher meets with Mitch and shows him the incriminating photos of Mitch and the woman he had a one-nighter with at the Cayman Islands. And DeVasher says to Mitch "Not just screwing, Mitch. All sorts of intimate acts, oral and whatnot, that can be particularly hard for a trusting wife to forgive and IMPOSSIBLE to forget". And DeVasher continues by saying "So if the FBI so much as spits in our direction, you'll tell us, won't you Mitch?". And lastly there is the moment where DeVasher finds a fax sent to the firm's office from a corrupt security guard in with the firm that says Mitch is working with the FBI. And DeVasher says on the radio "Go and find, McDeere! The son of a bitch cut a deal!".
Gary Busey is also great in his small but noteworthy role as the P.I. Eddie Lomax, who was Ray's former cell mate. And Eddie when he meets with Mitch says to him "I feel like I went to law school with you as you're brother talked about you every stinking day in prison!". And later DeVasher's henchman, the Nordic man (Tobin Bell) shows up at Eddie's office, the Nordic man shoots Eddie in both shoulders and asks him "Why are you asking questions about dead lawyers? Who hired you to do that?!". And Eddie gasping reaches for a gun underneath his desk and says "OK....OK. Just let me think. His name was.....Julio Iglasias!" and shoots the Nordic man's other hitman partner (played funnily by Dean Norris of Breaking Bad!) in the knee who shoots Eddie dead.
Paul Sorvino who has a small role near the end of the film as the crime boss, Tommy Morolto seems to essentially reprise his role as the mob boss from Goodfellas, Paulie Cicero but its still a role he effortlessly slips into. And Sorvino still makes a good impact in his main scene near the end when he rants about Mitch and he says "If I ever get my fuckin hands on this kid!" and low and behold Mitch turns up at their office!
And last of all there is David Strathairn who is excellent as Mitch's older brother, Ray who was imprisoned for manslaughter. Strathairn also has some good scenes such as when Mitch meets with Ray at prison and Ray asks Mitch "How'd you land a job like that with a brother in the slammer?" and Mitch goes silent and Ray quickly understands and says " I get it. Don't worry, I'd probably have done the same thing". And Mitch feeling guilty says "You were always there for me, Ray...." Ray says "I'd have done the same thing. You think I want to tell the guys around here that I got a brother at Harvard?". And Mitch asks Ray "Is there anything I can do for you?" and Ray says "Sure. Get me outta here" and Mitch asks "Where to?" and Ray says "Anywhere I can see a whole lotta sky. I get through the days, I even eat the food. It's amazing how much you miss the sky".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
Finally moving onto the director and music stuff, starting with the film's director, Sydney Pollack, he does a fine job here with the film and while the film moves at a bit of leisurely pace, Pollack does very well at notching up the suspense as the film carries on. Pollack also does great at eliciting excellent performances from his cast and he himself was a fine actor and acted in several films too before his untimely death in 2008.
Music wise it features a not bad one by David Grusin, which is almost entirely played on piano and it has some good tracks and moments of suspense, particularly during the scenes where Mitch flees from the firm and is chased by DeVasher and his Nordic hitman. The score in these moments also even echoes John Williams's score for JFK with the dramatic piano and metronome on the background. Its not a great score but it is still a fairly good one which is both pleasurable enough and dramatic enough to fit the tone of the film.
FLAWS
As for The Firm's flaws......yeahhhhh it has some and to kick off one thing that bugged me comes pretty much down to Tom Cruise himself as an actor because in this role he is not playing things much different than he has before in his whole career up this point (with maybe the exception of Born on the 4th of July). And Mitch is yet another cocky young guy who is very ambitious and ultimately a bit out of his depth as he tries to build his law career in Memphis. And while Tom has played worse and more annoying characters than Mitch it still saw him struggle to break the mould of what he had always done in his films up to this point.
I also felt that given the melodrama going on around Mitch in the film between his one night stand at the Cayman Islands, his home struggles with Abby and also pressure from the firm and the FBI that he would have found enough time to actually even study for the bar exam let alone pass it! And having looked up on the Internet it actually states that a prospective lawyer would need to take at least between 400 and 600 hours to study and prepare for the bar exam. And I very much doubt between all the film's melodrama that Mitch had that time!
The film could also be said to be guilty of being a bit too long as takes its time to build its suspense at 2 and a half hours there moments where it definitely drags a bit and you feel that just maybe it would have been even better if they had trimmed it by 30 minutes or so. Then it could have been a tauter film that could have been a potential real classic rather than just a pretty good movie.
Another thing that kind of bothered me in the film was to do with the ending where Mitch effectively becomes the crime family's attorney yet at the end of the film DeVasher is still alive (as Mitch kicks him unconscious after DeVasher mistakenly shoots the Nordic man) and most likely intent on wanting to take revenge on McDeere surely! Now as the crime family may well essentially be DeVasher's boss what is to stop this guy from taking revenge for himself??? But well this is a point that is never really covered in the film but had DeVasher died then surely Mitch would be even more in the clear.
And lastly and yeah OK this is a pretty nitpicky point it is in the scene Mitch finds out the bad news that two of the firm's associates were killed and Mitch goes to see his friend and fellow firm associate, Lamar (played by Terry Kinney). And in the scene Lamar sits out in his garden smoking a cigarette, almost in a daze, as a garden hose near him just sprays water all over his bottom of his trousers, YET this guy does nothing about it! I mean the guy just willingly sits there and get's himself soaked without giving a shit! And it made me think that this guy wasn't all there so to speak or perhaps that is one of the requirements to join the firm in the first place! Again I am being a bit petty and perniticky but it stands out as a rather daft moment in the film.
Soo that's me done with looking at the film's flaws.
SUM UP
Soooo that's it for my look at The Firm and in summary its a good solid thriller which features an excellent cast, decent sountrack and even though its a bit overlong it is relatively well paced and holds your attention pretty well. Tom Cruise also provides another solid starring performance but it still showed he was yet to break his cocky callow youth onscreen persona at that point, which remains one of the film's problems. But overall it is a good thriller and still well worth checking out after 20 years.
And so that is it for now and I will try and do another post just before Christmas comes around.
So until the next un its bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment