The Firm

1993 Drama

In this drama, based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, Mitch McDeer (Tom Cruise) is a young man from a poor Southern family who has struggled through Harvard Law School to graduate fifth in his class. Mitch is entertaining offers from major firms in New York and Chicago, but when Memphis-based Bendini, Lambert, & Locke offer him a 20 percent higher salary than the best offer he's received, in addition to an enticing variety of perks and fringe benefits, he decides to sign on and remain in the South. Mitch's wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), warns him that the deal sounds almost too good to be true, but it's not until after several weeks of working with Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) that Mitch discovers that the vast majority of BL&L's business is tied to organized crime, with crime boss Joey Morolto (Paul Sorvino) using the firm to launder Mafia money. FBI agents Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) and F. Denton Voyles (Steven Hill) try to blackmail Mitch into helping them make a case against the firm, while BL&L's "security director" William Devasher (Wilford Brimley) is blackmailing him to do as he's told after Mitch foolishly allows himself to be seduced by a prostitute hired by the firm. The Firm was adapted for the screen by acclaimed playwright David Rabe and features performances by Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter, and Gary Busey. more..

Director: Sydney Pollack

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook,Terry Kinney

Reviews

  • The result is a top-drawer melodrama, a polished example of commercial movie-making that manages to improve on the original while retaining its best-selling spirit.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • But with a screenplay that developed the story more clearly, this might have been a superior movie, instead of just a good one with some fine performances.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • No one is going to confuse The Firm with art, but its high- cholesterol virtues-a story that keeps you guessing, a dozen meaty character turns-are enough to send you home sated.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • This is a professional machine of a movie that compresses huge amounts of information into its two and a half hours of screen time. But it's so weighed down by detail, it fails to generate any real suspense.

    - TV Guide

    27 April 2013

  • Yet the film's most serious flaw (next to a newly concocted fizz-out ending) is that it's not sinister enough.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role

    Academy Awards (1994)

     
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role

    BAFTA Awards (1994)

     
  • Dave Grusin

    BMI Film & TV Awards (1994)

  • Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television

    Grammy Awards (1994)

     
  • Best Male Performance

    MTV Movie Awards (1994)