The Firm (1993)

User Review

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  Barneyonmovies

  9 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: 'The Firm,' is about a character slowly learning he's trapped in his nightmare scenario, then cleverly weaving his way out of it.
  
  Graduate lawyer Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) grew up poor but gets job offers from a wide range of top firms. Excited to get rich in an honest profession, he joins a family firm in Memphis and moves there with his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Eyebrows are raised when the partners show a little too much interest in his personal life and when one is killed under suspicious circumstances, but eventually McDeere is told by the FBI that the company is owned by a Chicago crime family, so they offer him freedom in exchange for information. The only trouble is, leaking client information would get him struck off as a lawyer forever, so he decides to play both sides and find creative ways to get his masters charged.
  
  That's a brilliantly tense story as you long for him to succeed against all the odds and dangers, but it also translates because the characters are so well drawn. With hints at the way he grew up, you understand McDeere's drive for success, but also how it can blind him to what's important, and though she isn't as well-drawn a character, that's what his wife tries highlight to him. Plus there also McDeere's mentor at the firm Avery Taylor (Gene Hackman) who basically plays a future McDeere, begrudgingly sacrificing his family life for the company.
  
  With old-school director Sydney Pollack at the helm getting great performances out of his stars and wringing every drop of tension out of the script, you'll be hooked on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: For what it does, it's a hard film to fault.
  
  VERDICT: 'The Firm,' is a tense crime thriller brought to life by interesting characters. What's not to love?

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