The Firm
One of the obvious tells at the beginning of “The Firm” is when Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook) tells Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) that their Memphis firm is small but close, more like a family. It shouldn’t surprise us by the time Mitch has been told Bendini, Lambert & Locke is in bed with the mob- more clues are given along the way- but it still hits like a rock to the head. Mitch is in way over his head, but seeing how he gets his way out of things is one of the great pleasures of Sydney Pollack’s film.
This was the beginning of the John Grisham cinematic boom during the 1990s, which basically culminated in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Rainmaker,” with Robert Altman’s “The Gingerbread Man” (from a script by Grisham) and Gary Fleder’s “Runaway Jury” from 2003 as codas to that era. Every time I watch this film, it’s impossible not to get sucked in to the world Grisham through Pollack built. Yes, I know there are huge differences from the book, but this is a tense and wonderful thriller that just keeps adding layers upon layers, all the way up to the end.
Nowadays, it’s hard to find a Tom Cruise character being truly vulnerable throughout a film. Sometimes, you’ll get some emotional moments, but ultimately, we know Cruise’s character will get through it all. One of the reasons the ‘90s was such an exciting time to follow Cruise, and it started here and “A Few Good Men,” was his characters were capable of being truly uncertain as to whether they would succeed. Here, he’s both too old and looks just young enough to be just out of law school, but he has that youthful excitement to him so that his Mitch is just naïve enough not to find anything truly unusual about Bendini, Lambert & Locke, and still projects the smarts needed by Mitch to outsmart everyone by the end. This is a top tier Cruise performance.
It’s hard to think of many 2 1/2 hour thrillers that move at the insane speed “The Firm” does. One of the strongest parts of the script by David Rabe, Robert Towne and David Rayfiel is how it doesn’t even make us think about how much time is passing- when Mitch is first contacted by FBI agent Terrence (Ed Harris), he’s been at the job for eight weeks, and it’s about 40 minutes into the film- but always keeps the story moving. Everything about this story is urgent- taking the initial offer, the shellshock when two people from the firm turn up dead, and how Mitch is going to give the FBI what it wants without being disbarred- but every once in a while, a moment comes up in the story that gives us time to breath, even as it sets up more plot coming up. The opening lunch Mitch has with his mentor, Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman); the late-night argument with Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn, who projects a welcome maturity in the role that Mitch sometimes lacks), setting up the moments where their relationship cracks later; Mitch visiting his brother Ray (David Strathairn) in jail, helping push him in the direction he needs to go. Everything builds in this film to the moment at the end where it’s just Mitch and Abby, and we feel like they’ve been through a decade of marriage in a matter of months. This film landing that emotion is everything.
One cannot discuss the tension in “The Firm” without bringing up Dave Grusin’s brilliant piano score. I think it was before I saw the film for myself that my mom told me about the score, and in particular, an interview with Grusin where he talked about a lot of the different things he did to create the score, including knocking on the sides, and plucking the strings. He uses all of the instrument, and his score is dynamic, emotional, and riveting. Of the scenes it benefits most, the chase after the firm has discovered what Mitch is doing is probably the most exciting cue of the score, but there’s also emotional scenes between Mitch and Abby and Ray that stand out, as well. This is a full meal, even if the score doesn’t have a full orchestra with it.
There’s a lot more to talk about with “The Firm.” The villainy of Wilford Brimley. The tragic arrogance of Hackman’s Avery. Holly Hunter’s great, comedic support as the bimbo PI assistant who’s a lot smarter than she initially seems. The great scene with Jerry Weintraub’s Sonny Capps. The way Memphis feels like an entire world in this film. And the evolution of Mitch as someone behind the game to someone who has to outsmart everyone else. This film triumphs in every way.
