THE EPIC FILM JOURNAL - DAY THIRTEEN

Film number 16 – The Firm

Today's movie was a big deal, I have not watched a film with Tom Cruise in nearly ten years, not counting Tropic Thunder, yes the film that was one too many was 2005’s War of the Worlds. I could not tell what my distaste for this man’s acting was about and some would say I am really the one losing out ( I haven’t seen Magnolia in five years!)A big thing for me to get over why did I take the leap you may ask? Sometimes you have to face your fears, after Rain Man was good right? I can’t remember it’s been a while.

Anyway time to put all of Cruise’s shit to the side, which maybe if everyone had tried this Valkyrie could have been successful. Now The Firm is the John Grisham adaptation made, made a boat load of cash and is directed by the great Sydney Pollack. Pretty impressive supporting cast in this one as well Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Holly Hunter, David Strathairn, Ed Harris, Gary Busey, we can just keep on going.

The film starts off calmly and pleasant, cheery soundtrack nice views of Harvard University, lots of money and material offers being given to Cruise who is the hot shot attorney fresh out of law school. He ends up going to that small firm in Memphis who will pay him an absolute arm and a leg. He accepts the position, brings his loving wife to their all expenses paid dream home with a fresh new motor waiting outside. A dream life, they’re very happy. Then almost instantly this barely laid false sense of security is broken, The intimidating nature of the firm is set up so quickly “the firm encourages children” two lawyers die and as quickly as Cruise is settled in to his new cushy life it starts to fall apart. I won’t really bother going into the specifics because you either no it or can guess what’s coming. Now I’m really trying not to dump on Cruise but very early into the film he just was not cutting it, unbelievable, just kind of hollow and soulless, the film is still entertaining but Cruise is not carrying the film, he also does this one laugh that is absolutely terrifying.

Pollack has crafted this film nicely it moves a steady pace and the supporting cast are nailing every scene, especially Tripplehorn who plays the wife. Gene Hackman plays that mentor type going against the grain of the company and is a very fun character to have in the film. The mystery doesn’t plod along but does come in danger of doing so, an acceptable pace not a brilliant one. Some rather stupid things happening as well; the already suspicious Cruise finds out two lawyers died a week earlier in a diving accident near the Cayman Islands, next scene he’s diving in the Cayman Islands! Obviously he has no reason to be scared for his life, but we have to believe he’s a bit nervous about the trip.

There are the usual annoying morality choices and themes that come with a film of this nature, rich vs. poor, what is better? What’s really important in life? Would piss me off a lot if I hadn’t seen it before. Fair enough though you have to try and make this material a bit more relevant to all the millions of us who aren’t high priced attorneys. The problem with this film by the middle is the world of these characters is so heartless and corporate that it is hard to really invest in the characters, or care what is going on, Gary Busey’s incredibly small fun role livens up the film tremendously finally showing a different type of person and Holly Hunter carries on this persona throughout the rest of the film. The only problem with Busey’s part however is that we see him hired by Cruise to ask question then in the next scene he is killed, I mean obviously you can’t show the whole time frame of the day but we can’t see a moment where he would even have time to ask a question.

On the whole it’s actually a pretty good movie, fun, stupid stuff. Problems of course there’s problems but who really cares when it’s this engaging? The story is thrilling maybe it didn’t need two and a half hours to unravel? Great cast and to Cruise’s credit by the end of the film you actually like him, his acting starts off shaky but he does win you over eventually. I ‘m not saying I won’t go out and rush to see every one of his films again, but maybe I will give Minority Report another go.

7 and a half out of 10.