Power can be murder to resist.
Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, he is totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two Associates are murdered. The FBI contact him, asking him for information and suddenly his life is ruined. He has a choice - work with the FBI, or stay with the Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it. Mitch figures the only way out is to follow his own plan...
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Character
Classical in form, earnest, grave and resolved.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- resolvedopen-ended
- contemporarynostalgic
Who loves it, who doesn't
101 profiled raters. Loved most by The Sinceres; disliked most by The Ironists.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is Tom Cruise the best thing in The Firm?”
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“Does it tie things up too neatly?”
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“Are the characters only there to move the plot?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · May 20267/10
Before he has even passed his bar exam, aspiring lawyer "Mitch" (Tom Cruise) is offered an hefty salary to take a job with a prestigious law firm headed up by "Lambert" (Hal Holbrook). Needless to say, he and wife "Abigail" (Jeanne Tripplehorn) are delighted with his new Mercedes and their new home, but is this simply too good to be true? Well shortly after he joins, two of his colleagues die in what appears to be a boating accident, then he is approached by the FBI and given some shocking news about his new employers and their involvement with the Chicago mob. Using something between the carrot and the stick, they and the Department of Justice (Ed Harris) invite "Mitch" to help them prove what they have hitherto been unable to establish. Naturally he is scared, but he keeps his head well enough to inform his bosses of this approach, though not of it's intention, and that is when "Avery" (Gene Hackman) takes a more intimate interest in the young man and his family affairs and warns him of the dangers of becoming trapped in the intricate web of slandering government chicanery - something the company's outwardly benign enforcer "Devasher" (Wilford Brimley) points out all too clearly.
Read the whole review on TMDB - Filipe Manuel Netoon TMDB · Dec 20229/10
**An excellent film, full of tension and suspense.** In my country there is a popular adage that probably also has an equivalent in other countries and that says “there is no beauty without a flaw”, that is, if something is too good, it must be wrong. And despite the excellent education and academic evaluations, the lawyer of this film seems not to know this simple truth. Based on a novel by John Grisham, the script follows Mitch, a young lawyer who has just been hired by a large and important law firm in Memphis, Tennessee. The job is irresistible: a high salary, several perks, a car and paid trips, everything a young yuppie and his wife could want. What he doesn't know is that his new bosses are heavily financed by mafia groups to whom they provide protection and legal advice, and that lawyers who seek to leave the firm end up mysteriously dying. When he finds out, he will have to decide what to do: either maintain his loyalty to the firm or collaborate with the FBI and frame his colleagues. The film has an excellent suspense that works wonderfully, and keeps us hooked until the end. The direction, in charge of the excellent Sydney Pollak, is really good and there is a certain si
Read the whole review on TMDB - Wuchakon TMDB · May 20189/10
When paradise turns into nightmare RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Sydney Pollack based on John Grisham’s novel, "The Firm” is a crime drama/thriller starring Tom Cruise as a top Harvard grad lawyer who desperately wants to leave behind his working-class origins and takes a high-paying job at a firm in Memphis. He and his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) are ecstatic in their affluent new world until clues mount up that the firm has a sinister side. Gene Hackman plays his mentor at the firm while Ed Harris appears as an FBI agent. Holly Hunter, Hal Holbrook, David Strathairn and Gary Busey are also on hand. This has long been one of my favorites from this genre. You really feel for McDeere (Cruise) & his wife as their utopia morphs into an inescapable hell. In the Washington DC scene you grasp how limited their choices are as they’re caught in a crossfire between the Mob and the FBI. McDeere must use his wits, his knowledge and “golden connections” for them to get out unscathed, if possible. I always favored the piano score by Dave Grusin, which some have described as “bouncy.” While you could call it that, it has different tones depending on the sequence. For instance, during the closin
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Cast
- Tom CruiseMitch McDeere
- Jeanne TripplehornAbby McDeere
- Gene HackmanAvery Tolar
- Hal HolbrookOliver Lambert
- Terry KinneyLamar Quinn
- Wilford BrimleyWilliam Devasher
- Ed HarrisWayne Tarrance
- Holly HunterTammy Hemphill
- David StrathairnRay McDeere
- Gary BuseyEddie Lomax
Crew
- Sydney PollackDirector
- Robert TowneScreenplay
- David RabeScreenplay
- David RayfielScreenplay
- John GrishamNovel
- John SealeDirector of Photography
- Dave GrusinOriginal Music Composer
- Fredric SteinkampEditor
- William SteinkampEditor
- Scott RudinProducer
Where to watch
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
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Chicago Hope 199479% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, earnest, grave.
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Often watched with
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