The Firm (1993 film)

Not to be confused with The Firm (1988 television film) or The Firm (2009 film).

The Firm
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sydney Pollack
Produced by	John Davis Sydney Pollack Scott Rudin
Screenplay by	David Rabe Robert Towne David Rayfiel
Based on	The Firm by John Grisham
Starring	Tom Cruise Jeanne Tripplehorn Gene Hackman Ed Harris Holly Hunter Hal Holbrook David Strathairn
Music by	Dave Grusin
Cinematography	John Seale
Editing by	William Steinkamp Fredric Steinkamp
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 30, 1993 (1993-06-30)
Running time	154 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$42 million
Box office	$270,248,367

The Firm is a 1993 legal thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack, and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Hal Holbrook, and David Strathairn. The film is based on the 1991 novel The Firm by author John Grisham.

Plot

Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) is a young man with a promising future in law. About to graduate from Harvard Law School, he is approached by Bendini, Lambert & Locke, 'The Firm', and made an offer he cannot refuse. He and his wife, Abigail "Abby" (Jeanne Tripplehorn), move to Memphis, where The Firm is located. Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) becomes his mentor at The Firm.

Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, including a house and car, he is at first totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two associates are murdered. The FBI contacts him, asking him for information and informing him that The Firm connected to the mob, and that every associate who has ever tried to leave The Firm ends up murdered. His life as he knows it is forever changed. He has a choice: work with the FBI and risk being discovered by The Firm, or stay with The Firm knowing that at some point he will get involved with laundering mob money and in the end go to jail when the FBI cracks The Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it.

Mitch devises a plan that allows him to cooperate with the FBI by finding proof that all partners from The Firm were guilty of overbilling, while at the same time reaching an agreement with the mob Morolto brothers. In addition he manages to do so without breaking any laws, thereby being able to keep his status as a lawyer.

At the end of the film, the McDeeres leave their house in Memphis for Boston, driving the same car they arrived in.

Cast

• Tom Cruise as Mitch McDeere, a promising recent Harvard Law graduate
• Jeanne Tripplehorn as Abigail "Abby" McDeere, Mitch's wife
• Gene Hackman as Avery Tolar, Mitch's mentor at the Firm
• Ed Harris as Agent Wayne Terrance, the agent in charge of the investigation into the Firm; Mitch's primary contact with the FBI
• Holly Hunter as Tammy Hemphill, Eddie's secretary, helps Mitch get and copy the files
• Hal Holbrook as Oliver Lambert, senior partner at the Firm
• David Strathairn as Ray McDeere, Mitch's brother, in jail for a manslaughter conviction
• Terry Kinney as Lamar Quin, Mitch's friend who works at the Firm
• Wilford Brimley as Bill Devasher, officially the head of security at the Firm - unofficially the Firm's hitman.
• Sullivan Walker as Barry Abanks, owner of scuba diving business
• Gary Busey as Eddie Lomax, a private investigator, friend of Ray McDeere
• Steven Hill as F. Denton Voyles, FBI director

Production

Gene Hackman's name did not appear on the release poster; due to Tom Cruise's deal with Paramount only his name could appear above the title. Hackman also wanted his name to appear above the credits, but when this was refused he asked for his name to be removed. His name does appear in the end credits.

The soundtrack, almost exclusively solo piano by Dave Grusin, is used to great effect during action sequences and interstitials.

Differences from the novel

The film accords with the book in most respects, but the ending is significantly different. Mitch doesn't end up in the Caribbean, as in the book; he and Abby simply get into their car and drive away from Memphis (to Boston, as the ending narration, "Do you think [the car] will make it?...to Boston...")

A more fundamental difference from the book is the motives and manner in which Mitch solves his predicament. In the book, Mitch acknowledges to himself that he is betraying the attorney-client privilege by copying certain information and giving it to the FBI In actuality, in most US states this privilege only applies to crimes that have already been committed. The privilege does not apply if a lawyer knows that his client either is committing or will commit a crime. Accepting that he will not be allowed to practice law anywhere again, he swindles $10 million from the mob law firm, along with receiving $1 million of a promised $2 million from the FBI for his cooperation. After an extended manhunt involving the police, the firm's lawyers, and hired thugs courtesy of the Morolto family, Mitch escapes with Abby (and his brother Ray) to the Caribbean.

In the film, apparently in order to preserve the protagonist's personal integrity, Mitch steals no money from the Firm. Instead, he exposes a systematic overbilling scheme by the firm, thus driving a wedge between the mob (which in essence becomes complicit with Mitch) and its law firm (in the book, there is only one sentence that refers to overbilling). He receives a smaller amount of money from the FBI, which he gives to Ray, allowing him to disappear. This alters the character of the Mitch McDeere created by Grisham. Rather than capitalizing on his circumstances for personal gain, as in the book, the movie's McDeere ends up battered and bruised, but with his integrity and professional ethics intact. Mitch also makes the FBI have to work to bring down the firm by having to argue that each instance of excessive overbilling is a federal offense (by virtue of the excessive bills going via the US Postal Service); given the volume and frequency, it invokes the racketeering legislation, thereby enabling the FBI to seize premises and equipment, as well as freezing bank accounts - in effect putting the firm out of business. From here the mafia would then need to find another law firm willing to take them on as clients, and if they couldn't, charges for non-lodgment of tax returns could be brought. In the book, detailed records and a recorded testimony are provided by Mitch, which, either by itself or in addition to the evidence obtained by the FBI, enables indictments to be brought against the firm's lawyers and the mafia.

Instead of a BMW, Mitch gets a Mercedes-Benz for joining the Firm.

Avery Tolar was originally Avery Tolleson; the latest version of the novel uses the film's surname. Tolar is portrayed as a sort of reluctant villain in the film, while in the novel he has no such moral conflicts.

The surname of the man killed on Grand Cayman is Hodges, instead of Hodge like in the novel.

Mitch's confession to Abby about his sexual infidelity was also unique to the film. In the novel, McDeere never tells Abby about his infidelity. In the book, Abby not knowing about Mitch's infidelity is a major "suspense" piece. Mitch comes home one evening and finds an envelope addressed to Abby, that has "Photos - Do Not Bend" written on it. Mitch thinks it's the pictures he was shown of his infidelity overseas. Abby is in the bedroom when he sees the open package. He enters the bedroom and learns that Abby opened the package, but it was empty. Mitch realizes the head of security at the Firm is toying with him, and this incident in the book causes Mitch to take action against the Firm.

Also, in the book it's not Abby who seduces Avery in the Caribbean, but Eddie's old secretary, Tammy. This also changes the character development because in the movie Abby is portrayed as risking herself for Mitch. In the book, Abby is simply an accomplice to Tammy and it's Tammy who seduces and drugs Avery.

Filming locations

Memphis, Tennessee

• Owen Brennan's - Lunch scene in cocktail/bar area. Owen Brennan's commemorated the filming by placing plaques on the two cocktail chairs where Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman sat.
• Peabody Hotel - BBQ roof scene overlooking Mississippi River Bridge and downtown Memphis.
• Beale Street - Scene where Mitch and Abby see young tumblers as street performers
• Lausanne Collegiate School- Playground scene and others.
• Front Street Deli - Meeting at diner.
• Mud Island
• Blues City Cafe - FBI first meeting with Mitch.
• Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Marion, Arkansas

• The Marion Hotel - Apartment room on top floor for a scene.

Release

Critical reception

Critical reaction to The Firm has been mostly positive, with the film earning a 76% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Roger Ebert gave The Firm three stars out of four, remarking: "The movie is virtually an anthology of good small character performances. ... The large gallery of characters makes The Firm into a convincing canvas ... [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."

The film earned some negative reviews as well, notably from James Berardinelli, who said that "[v]ery little of what made the written version so enjoyable has been successfully translated to the screen, and what we're left with instead is an overly-long [and] pedantic thriller." Grisham enjoyed the film, remarking: "I thought [Tom Cruise] did a good job. He played the innocent young associate very well."

Box office

The film was released while Grisham was at the height of his popularity. That week, Grisham and Michael Crichton evenly divided the top six paperback spots on The New York Times Best Seller list. The film was a huge success, making over $158 million domestically and $111 internationally ($270 million worldwide). Additionally, it was the largest grossing R-rated movie of 1993 and of any film based on a Grisham novel.

TV sequel

In April 2011 Entertainment One announced that a sequel to The Firm was being produced with Sony Pictures Television and Paramount Pictures. The series picks up the story of Mitch and his family ten years after the events of the novel and film. The first season is to be 22 episodes and begin production in Canada in July 2011. The series will be broadcast by Sony on their AXN network. In May 2011 NBC confirmed that they had acquired the U.S. broadcast rights to the show and that they plan to début it in January 2012. Shaw Media announced on May 16, 2011 that they had acquired the Canadian broadcast rights and would be showing the series on Global. Lukas Reiter is the show runner.

External links

• The Firm at the Internet Movie Database
• The Firm at AllRovi
• The Firm at Box Office Mojo
• The Firm at Rotten Tomatoes
• "The Firm: Blu-ray Review" at HD-Report