- Thriller, Crime, Drama
- 141 min
- PG-13
Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.
A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.
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Character
Classical in form, earnest, grave and contemporary.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- resolvedopen-ended
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · May 20186/10
Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington team-up in this crime thriller RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Alan J. Pakula from John Grisham’s novel, "The Pelican Brief” is a political drama/thriller about a law student (Julia Roberts) who researches the murders of two supreme court justices and shares her theory with her college professor (Sam Shepard) who, in turn, gives it to an FBI friend on a lark. The brief hits a nerve because people start dying one-by-one. Denzel Washington plays a DC reporter who teams-up with the student while Robert Culp appears as the president. While I prefer “The Firm” (1993), which was also written by Grisham, this one is along the same lines, albeit with a totally different story (naturally). “Pelican” has more action, but the plot/characters aren’t quite as interesting IMHO. Still, if you liked one, you’ll probably appreciate the other. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 21 minutes and was shot in New Orleans and Washington DC/Maryland. ADDITIONAL CAST: John Heard plays an FBI agent, Stanley Tucci a hitman and John Lithgow an editor. GRADE: B/B-
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Cast
- Julia RobertsDarby Shaw
- Denzel WashingtonGray Grantham
- Sam ShepardThomas Callahan
- John HeardGavin Vereek
- Tony GoldwynFletcher Coal
- James B. SikkingDenton Voyles
- William AthertonBob Gminski
- Robert CulpThe President
- Stanley TucciKhamel
- Hume CronynJustice Rosenberg
Crew
- Alan J. PakulaDirector
- Alan J. PakulaScreenplay
- John GrishamNovel
- Stephen GoldblattDirector of Photography
- James HornerOriginal Music Composer
- Tom RolfEditor
- Trudy ShipEditor
- Alan J. PakulaProducer
- Pieter Jan BruggeProducer
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