- Film Review
- Reviewed By John Ferguson
-
4 out of 5
After running rings around the US Navy in A Few Good Men, Tom Cruise returned to the courtroom for this big-screen adaptation of John Grisham's bestseller. The result is a lavish, star-studded legal thriller, which at times seems as if it is going to last as long as the OJ Simpson trial, but is never less than engrossing. Cruise plays a rising young lawyer who gets a dream job with a prestigious law firm only to discover that it offers more than just legal advice to one particularly sinister client. The ever excellent Gene Hackman is his jaded superior, but, as good as they are, the two stars are outshone by the seemingly never-ending parade of star supporting turns (Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, David Strathairn, Hal Holbrook and an unbilled Goodfellas reprise from Paul Sorvino). Director Sydney Pollack is as proficient as usual and just about manages to sustain the suspense throughout, even though the subject matter is fairly dry.
Plot Summary
Legal thriller based on John Grisham's bestseller, starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Gene Hackman. Top Harvard law graduate Mitch McDeere expects to find work in the big city, but the highest bid for his talents comes from a paternalistic Memphis firm. Mitch throws himself into the job, despite his wife Abby's reservations, only to be warned by the FBI that the deaths of two company associates weren't accidental.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Mitch McDeere
- Tom Cruise
- Abby McDeere
- Jeanne Tripplehorn
- Avery Tolar
- Gene Hackman
- Oliver Lambert
- Hal Holbrook
- Lamar Quinn
- Terry Kinney
- William Devasher
- Wilford Brimley
- Wayne Tarrance
- Ed Harris
- Tammy Hemphill
- Holly Hunter
- Ray McDeere
- David Strathairn
- Eddie Lomax
- Gary Busey
- F Denton Voyles
- Steven Hill
- Nordic man
- Tobin Bell
- Kay Quinn
- Barbara Garrick
- Royce McKnight
- Jerry Hardin
- Thomas Richie
- Paul Calderon
- Sonny Capps
- Jerry Weintraub
- Barry Abanks
- Sullivan Walker
- Nina Huff
- Margo Martindale
- Nathan Locke
- John Beal
- Squat man
- Dean Norris
- Frank Mulholland
- Lou Walker
- Rental agent
- Debbie Turner
- Wally Hudson
- Tommy Cresswell
- Randall Dunbar
- David Kimball
- Young woman on beach
- Karina Lombard
- Tommie Morolto
- Paul Sorvino
Crew
- Director
- Sydney Pollack
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