The Firm (1993)
Let's discuss the legal thriller The Firm. Fresh out of Harvard Law, Mitch McDeere relocates to Memphis to work for a prestigious firm, only to slowly realize they are not as all as they appear.
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Based on the best selling novel by John Grisham
Adapted for the screen by David Rabe, Robert Towne, and David Rayfiel
Music by David Grusin
Starring Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Gary Busey, Wilford Brimley, David Strathairn, Terry Kinney, Steven Hill, Paul Sorvino, Barbara Garrick, Jerry Hardin, Margo Martindale, Tobin Bell, Dean Norris, and HAL HOLBROOK
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 42 | January 8, 2023 5:52 PM
|
I love both the book and the movie! Fun thrillers
by Anonymous | reply 1 | January 8, 2023 1:19 AM
|
Great score by Dave Grusin
by Anonymous | reply 2 | January 8, 2023 1:49 AM
|
Gene Hackman looks at Jean T with more believable lust than Tom can muster.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | January 8, 2023 1:50 AM
|
Tom's almost old enough to star in the proposed sequel, "The Infirm."
by Anonymous | reply 4 | January 8, 2023 1:54 AM
|
R3 he comes across as a dirty old man
by Anonymous | reply 5 | January 8, 2023 2:00 AM
|
This is one of those movies that if it is on TV while I am flipping thru the channels, I always stop and watch it. It is fun and suspenseful but also has moments where it is goofy, like the fact that diabetic Wilford Brimley is the Firm’s muscle.
Holly Hunter and Hal Holbrook in random supporting roles are fun to see too
by Anonymous | reply 6 | January 8, 2023 2:12 AM
|
Did Holly really deserve an Oscar nomination for this?
by Anonymous | reply 7 | January 8, 2023 2:13 AM
|
It's a delightfully re-watchable film, with great performances, production design, and especially music. And the novel is even better, with a bolder ending that's completely different from the film's boy scout treatment.
Holly Hunter is a treat as Tammy, the trucker's wife who saves the whole scheme with nary a thanks. But the movie is stolen by Hackman's Tolar, who fits in perfectly as the rogue-with-a-heart. His interactions with Jeanne Tripplehorn are the best in the film, and they have stronger chemistry than the actress had with her onscreen husband.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | January 8, 2023 2:19 AM
|
I think Wilford Brimley is perfect as the head of security. He is nasty and rough and a son of a bitch.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | January 8, 2023 2:20 AM
|
R9 Exactly. Devasher in the novel is more of an outright villain, and a sexual deviant as well. But Brimley's version of him adds just a little bit of softness. He's ruthless, but he's also the sweet old man from Quaker Oats and Cocoon.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | January 8, 2023 2:22 AM
|
Mr. Diabeetus scared the shit out of me in this movie
by Anonymous | reply 11 | January 8, 2023 2:23 AM
|
Inspired a memorable Mr Show sketch.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 12 | January 8, 2023 2:23 AM
|
I don't know why, but I do not enjoy reading Grisham's novels. I want to like them, but I just don't.
Movies based on his books, however, tend to be really fun to watch and, as R8 says, rewatch.
The Client, The Rainmaker, The Pelican Brief, The Firm, Runaway Jury, A Time to Kill – all of them eminently rewatchable.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | January 8, 2023 2:24 AM
|
How would you like to be under the desk giving a BJ and then he gets shot? Holly Hunter was great in that and I loved that she sailed off with Ray.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | January 8, 2023 2:28 AM
|
R13 did you try The Firm, A Time to Kill, or The Pelican Brief? Those are his three best.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | January 8, 2023 2:30 AM
|
Terrific flick. Pollack is a gifted director
by Anonymous | reply 16 | January 8, 2023 2:32 AM
|
Tom and Jeanne’s house in the film is on Tuckahoe Lane, one of the prettiest little streets in East Memphis.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | January 8, 2023 2:47 AM
|
Jeanne got some good parts when she was with Ben Stiller then she faded out
by Anonymous | reply 18 | January 8, 2023 2:52 AM
|
Tom as a lawyer is as believable as Marky Mark as an astronaut.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | January 8, 2023 2:53 AM
|
I always liked Hal Holbrook in this. I think he is such an underrated actor.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 20 | January 8, 2023 2:58 AM
|
R19, he was about as convincing as Esther Williams on horseback!
by Anonymous | reply 21 | January 8, 2023 3:40 AM
|
Tammy Cruise has never looked capable of working a doorknob, much less getting through the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | January 8, 2023 3:43 AM
|
I confuse this one with the one where the law firm is run by Satan.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | January 8, 2023 3:43 AM
|
No, Holly Hunter did not deserve a nomination for this. But I can't get too upset about it considering how much I love her in other movies. My favorite moment in the movie is David Strathairn's scene with Holly Hunter at the end.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | January 8, 2023 3:52 AM
|
R23 That's The Devil's Advocate
by Anonymous | reply 25 | January 8, 2023 3:57 AM
|
I liked Jeanne Tripplehorn in this. She is underrated
by Anonymous | reply 26 | January 8, 2023 4:51 AM
|
How did they always manage to make Cruise look statuesque? Someone reported that he's about 5' 7" with a triangular shape (wide hips).
by Anonymous | reply 27 | January 8, 2023 5:12 AM
|
I enjoyed it at the time but I can't watch Tom Cruise in anything now. All of you know why.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | January 8, 2023 5:53 AM
|
Hollywood has always been clever is hiding actors who were short. Alan Ladd is a good example. Mostly cast opposite taller leading ladies he had to either stand on a box or they in a ditch so that it appeared he was taller.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | January 8, 2023 6:03 AM
|
[quote]Hollywood has always been clever is hiding actors who were short.
How about when they were insane R30?
by Anonymous | reply 32 | January 8, 2023 8:28 AM
|
A great thriller and Hackman is a legend .
by Anonymous | reply 33 | January 8, 2023 10:49 AM
|
Hackman MAKES the movie. Although it’s perfectly calibrated and perfectly cast - even Margo Martindale as Cruise’s secretary!
by Anonymous | reply 34 | January 8, 2023 11:23 AM
|
The movie was good even though I loathe Tom Cruise. But as a fan of the book, I warned other book fans that although it had the same characters, the story in the film was very different.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | January 8, 2023 11:47 AM
|
Sydney Pollack said there would always be a part in his films for Allyn Ann McLerie but she is not in this.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | January 8, 2023 1:50 PM
|
Wilfred Brimley has always annoyed me so I find it very satisfying when Tom Cruise kicks the shit out of him near the end
by Anonymous | reply 37 | January 8, 2023 5:18 PM
|
Always enjoyed it. Good script, good pace, some genuine suspense, good cast. Tripplehorn in another movie where she's not the focal point but plays a big role - like Basic Instinct.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | January 8, 2023 5:22 PM
|
So many memorable scenes - Terry Kinney sitting in his backyard with the sprinkler hitting his leg over and over when he realizes the co workers were murdered on their business trip.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | January 8, 2023 5:25 PM
|
"Gene Hackman looks at Jean T with more believable lust than Tom can muster."
There's never a scene where there needs to be lust.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | January 8, 2023 5:34 PM
|
Wasn't The Firm based on The Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, AR.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | January 8, 2023 5:36 PM
|
It wasn't a problem with diminutive Constance Frances Marie Ockelman, r30. They made seven films together, including three films in which they appeared as themselves (Star Spangled Rhythm, Duffy’s Tavern and Variety Girl).
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 42 | January 8, 2023 5:52 PM
|