Classic Movie Review: 'The Firm'

The Firm (1993)

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Written by David Rabe, Robert Towne, David Rayfiel

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Wilfred Brimley, Holly Hunter, David Straithairn, Ed Harris

Release Date June 30th, 1993

Published July 10th, 2023

John Grisham was a phenomenon in 1993. He owned the bestseller lists with the rapid fire releases of his easy, breezy legal thrillers. Each story bubbled with melodramatic twists and turns that you legitimately did not want to put down. For a time, Grisham's thrillers were met with the kind of frenzy that has only since been matched by the likes of Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer, and She Who Shall Not Be Named. In 1993 alone two Grisham novels were adapted into blockbuster movies.

While we have to wait until December for the joyous pleasure of The Pelican Brief, we first have The Firm, a potboiler of a legal drama surrounding the tumultuous tenure of a young lawyer and his job at a deeply corrupt law firm in Memphis, Tennessee. It's remarkable how easily Grisham's pulpy legalese translates to film without missing a beat. Grisham's style is remarkably detailed and yet wildly cinematic with easy to follow twists and turns that rarely get caught up in things that cannot be easily translated to another medium. It's no surprise that the author designed his thrillers with selling the movie rights in the back of his mind.

The Firm takes on an extra dimension on the big screen however, as it is overseen by a masterful director. By this point, Sydney Pollack was winding down his legendary career but when he had good material he could be coaxed back behind the camera and we were lucky to have him class up the pulpy prose of Grisham, dressing it up with one of the most over-qualified casts in movie history. Seven cast-members of The Firm either had or soon would have an Academy Award nomination, two of them won Academy gold, a true murderers row of performers brought to bear on what was already set to be a blockbuster courtesy of Grisham's own ludicrously large fanbase.

Heading up this Yankee's circa 1932 lineup of performers, Tom Cruise stars in The Firm as Mitchell McDeere, a young lawyer fresh out of law school and highly in-demand. We watch early on as Mitch is courted everywhere from Los Angeles, to Boston, to Wall Street. Least likely among Mitch's many potential employers is a small firm out of Memphis, Tennessee. Bendini, Lambert, & Lock only has around forty lawyers on its roster, unlike the other firms which are teeming with associates. They only want Mitch among his prestigious graduating class and to say he's flattered is an understatement.

It also helps that this firm is offering a great deal more money than the other firms competing for his services. Thus, Mitch packs up his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and their dog, Hearsay, for a trip from Harvard to Memphis. Alarm bells for Abby start going off right away. At a welcome party, Abby is introduced to the wives of fellow associates and is told about the almost Stepford Wives' level of commitment that the firm requires from lawyers and their families. Mitch however, is way too excited to see the red flags appearing everywhere.

He's especially blinded by the imposing glare of his new mentor, Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman), a wildly charismatic partner with a weakness for partying in the Cayman Islands and sleeping with married women. To say that Gene Hackman steals scenes would be a grave understatement. As great as Tom Cruise is, he is absolutely no match for the wisdom, wit, and magnetism of Hackman. The two don't so much have chemistry as they have a brotherly rivalry with Hackman, and Avery, determined to show the younger man that he can go harder in all aspects of life.

Cruise is actually remarkably passive in the role of Mitch McDeere. It's rare role where Cruise melts into an ensemble where his handsomeness stands out but he's more in place to reflect the star power around him rather than show out on his own. Scene after scene finds Cruise on screen with more showy performers, larger than life performers with a grander sense of performance that forces Cruise into a straight man, reactionary role. It's kind of fun to watch the usually put together Cruise be pushed around by a supporting cast and a plot seemingly determined to upend his cool and collected persona.

A great example of this dynamic in The Firm comes from a scene in which Mitch, as he's beginning to unravel the conspiracy at the heart of his new place of work, hires a private detective played by Gary Busey. In classic Gary Busey fashion, Busey comes barreling into the scenes, putting his hands on Cruise, dancing around him as he leads him to a seat, telling needless stories, and generally being a weird creep with a bizarre likability. Busey is paired with the wonderful Holly Hunter as his sexy secretary and lover, and both have explosive charisma that seems to shove Cruise to the back of each scene.

The Firm is wildly fun on top of everything else. This is a great thriller with a smart lead character who, though he willingly gets taken in at first, isn't just a subordinate to what is happening to him. Mitch opens his eyes pretty quickly and takes action to protect himself while also taking care to do his job to the best of his ability. For all that happens to him, and things definitely are happening to him rather than him making them happen, Cruise's Mitch isn't a dimwit, he's got agency and while he can't be prepared for everything, he's allowed room to be smart and resourceful, balancing out a plot that is firmly fixed against him.

The Firm is a terrific movie with surprisingly little reputation 30 years later. The same could be said of John Grisham whose cultural cache has diminished over the last 30 years. Though he still pumps out a bestseller per year, he's no longer the culture wide rock star he was when The Firm arrived in theaters in 1993. And The Firm, despite being the 3rd highest grossing movie of 1993, out grossing Sleepless in Seattle, Mrs. Doubtfire, and another beloved Tom Cruise legal thriller, A Few Good Men, The Firm is rarely discussed thirty years later.

This is likely owed to the fact that it really is a rather modest, easily digested legal thriller. It doesn't have the greatest romantic comedy duo in history, it doesn't have Robin Williams at the height of his comic powers, and it doesn't have Cruise demanding that the legendary Jack Nicholson give him the truth Nicholson says he can't handle. There is nothing about The Firm that expands beyond The Firm. Despite the many colorful performances and a terrifically tight thriller plot, The Firm is perhaps too breezy for its own good.

The Firm was recently the subject of the Everyone's a Critic 1993 podcast and, interestingly enough, my Gen-Z co-host M.J actually talked about forgetting much of what they enjoyed about The Firm in the mere week between when we watched it and when we recorded our show about it. That is perhaps the perfect microcosm of how our culture feels about The Firm, it's an entertaining watch that you are very likely to forget not long after you see it. It's a disposable bit of pop entertainment worth a night in with a bucket of popcorn but also a movie you will forget as quickly as you dispose of the remnants of your popcorn bowl.

Listen to the Everyone's a Critic 1993 podcast on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Myself, M.J and fellow co-host, Amy K. are making our way through the movies of 1993 and having a great time assessing the strange ways in which movies and popular culture have shifted over the years. Some movies don't age well and that's okay, it's like a lesson we learn and grow from. The Firm has actually aged pretty well even as it remains among the most disposable of pop entertainments.

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