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Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Terry Kinney ... see more see more... , Ed Harris , Holly Hunter , Wilford Brimley , David Strathairn , Gary Busey , Steven Hill , Tobin Bell , Barbara Garrick , Jerry Hardin , Paul Calderon , Jerry Weintraub , Karina Lombard , Joey Anderson , Rebecca Glenn , Greg Goossen , David A. Kimball , Margo Martindale , Dean Norris , Afemo Omilami , Clint Smith , Paul Sorvino , Debbie Turner , Lou Walker , James White , Bart Whiteman , John Beal , David Dwyer , Donald Jones , Mark W. Johnson , Tommy Cresswell , Jonathan E. Kaplan

In this drama, based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, Mitch McDeer (Tom Cruise) is a young man from a poor Southern family who has struggled through Harvard Law School to graduate fifth in h... read more read more...is class. Mitch is entertaining offers from major firms in New York and Chicago, but when Memphis-based Bendini, Lambert, & Locke offer him a 20 percent higher salary than the best offer he's received, in addition to an enticing variety of perks and fringe benefits, he decides to sign on and remain in the South. Mitch's wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), warns him that the deal sounds almost too good to be true, but it's not until after several weeks of working with Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) that Mitch discovers that the vast majority of BL&L's business is tied to organized crime, with crime boss Joey Morolto (Paul Sorvino) using the firm to launder Mafia money. FBI agents Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) and F. Denton Voyles (Steven Hill) try to blackmail Mitch into helping them make a case against the firm, while BL&L's "security director" William Devasher (Wilford Brimley) is blackmailing him to do as he's told after Mitch foolishly allows himself to be seduced by a prostitute hired by the firm. The Firm was adapted for the screen by acclaimed playwright David Rabe and features performances by Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter, and Gary Busey. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

61% liked it

64,532 ratings

Critics

75% liked it

52 critics

R, 2 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Release Date: June 1, 1993

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DVD Release Date: May 23, 2000

Stats: 1,842 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,842)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    July 4, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    I was looking forward to seeing this film, and I thought it was going to be an excellent thriller. After viewing it, I thought it was a good thriller at best. Based on John Grisham's bestseller, The Firm is a fairly entertaining thriller which mixes dramatic elements. Tom Cruise ... read moreplays newcomer lawyer Mitch Mcdeere who gets hired by a firm that has ties to organized crime. Now I haven't read the book, but I thought this was a good film with plenty of twists and turns. Director Sydney Pollack keeps the film engaging to the very end, but the film is a tad too long. Tom Cruise delivers a good performance, and he stars apposite some impressive talent. Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook and Ed Harris are all phenomenal. The Firm is not a perfect film, but it manages to still be an effective intricate thriller that delivers on screen. I've never read a Grisham novel, but I have to say after watching this film, I was impressed enough to want to check out his work. Nowadays Tom Cruise is plainly weird but at least he was able to deliver good performances (and still does, but less frequently) back in the day. The Firm is a good thriller with a great cast, but there's something that's missing from the film to truly make it a memorable film. As it stands, The Firm manages to thrill but by the climax you have to admit that it could have been done slightly better.
  • ythelastman89
    May 29, 2011
    ythelastman89
    If there is ever one movie that showcases the hotshot version of Tom Cruise, it's The Firm. I'll admit that I never really saw a whole lot in it when I saw it for the first time, but it's really grown on me over time. Tom Cruise's performance alone should be worth anyone's time; ... read moreit's extremely multi-dimensional and he seems to hit everything just right. Even for being a lawyer thriller, Tom Cruise brings his intensity on full speed and has you at the edge of your seat. This also has some great supporting performances from Gene Hackman and Holly Hunter, not to mention the intimidatingly bald Ed Harris. Now this takes John Grisham to the next level and stands as probably the best movie based on one of his books, just edging out The Client. It's an extremely effective conspiracy theory plot that has you interested for the entire time.
  • stevenecarrier
    May 29, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    Sydney Pollack's "The Firm" is John Grisham 101. This is a crisp, clean legal thriller that hits all the proper points (murder, cat and mouse chases, trips to exotic islands, bugged phone lines, a foreign contract killer, double crosses, the FBI). The film keeps everything nice a... read morend tidy and ends on a satisfactory note. Films like "The Firm" (well made, clearheaded crowd pleasers) are easy to enjoy. "The Firm" is propelled by an involving but straightforward story and a strong performance from Tom Cruise. He is backed by a large, talented, supporting cast. Nothing about the story is all that surprising but it's handled in a way that never insults your intelligence, which says a lot.
  • blkbomb
    May 15, 2011
    blkbomb
    I really enjoyed The Firm. Much of the criticism comes from the fact that it is overlong and boring. For me, the movie was never boring and it was fun watching the plot unfold. A great cast featuring Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, and Ed Harris, along with ... read morethe great direction of Sydney Pollack make for a very entertaining two and a half hours.
  • fb619846742
    February 19, 2011
    fb619846742
    A pulse-less, predictable, and rather disappointing "thriller" from writer John Grisham and director Sidney Pollack, concerning a young lawyer (Tom Cruise) fresh out of grad school who is recruited by a Memphis firm, only to learn that they might have ties to the mafia and some o... read moref the men that work there die in mysterious ways. The only thing that kept this thing from being awful was the acting, which is indeed quite good (Gene Hackman and Ed Harris are both awesome in supporting parts), the thing is you can see most of this movie coming. There are way to many characters and the screenplay seems to not care about explaining some of the finer details despite possessing a 150 minute running time. While the last half hour does contain some excitement, I could not help but feel disappointed and bored through most of this film. Pollack has done much better ("They Shoot Horses, Don't They" comes to mind).
  • matertenebraum
    December 21, 2008
    matertenebraum
    I never finished reading the book, but that there was some differences between certain parts of the book to movie. From what I have heard the ending is different between the two. I have also heard that the ending is better in movie. I had seen this movie a million times before to... read moreday, but just now bought it on DVD. The theatrical trailer 1 is very good and doesn't even show that much of the movie. My favourite parts of this movie was mainly the ending sequences which I won't go into because you need to see them for yourself. I loved right at the beginning where Tom Cruise's (Mitch McDeere's) wife gets home and as she's opening the door, the door flings open and Mitch grabs her and they go straight for the couch kissing. Then after a few seconds she says "Okay. Okay. You're going to have to leave now. I'm expecting my husband." "The hell with him" he says and shuts the door and takes her into the kitchen.

    The movie is very good, amusing, and I do agree with it being a little farfetched but all a movie is supposed to be is amusing because it is all fantasy. Even stories based on true events are fantasies because they may not show exactly how certain things took place and that it is a byist story. It only shows how one person viewed something.

    In any case, this movie deserves an 8 or nine out of ten.
  • movieguru12
    May 22, 2008
    movieguru12
    Tom Cruise wows me again as a lawyer working at a law firm in this intense film!!!
  • thmtsang
    July 14, 2007
    thmtsang
    Excellent thriller about a firm run by the mafia.
  • Deano78
    April 29, 2007
    Deano78
    A cool film about a mafia run law firm.
  • jjnxn
    April 17, 2007
    jjnxn
    coming from a talent like pollack and with gifted actors hackman and holbrook in support this should have been much better.

View All The Firm Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss
May 26, 2008
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

Tom Cruise heads a tony cast in a best-seller movie that is firm at the start and infirm by the end. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
May 26, 2008
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

The Firm amusingly satirizes the New Traditionalist aspirations of today's young urban elite -- not so much the lifestyle itself as the illusion of utter security it represents. Full Review

Todd McCarthy
May 26, 2008
Todd McCarthy, Variety

A smooth adaptation of John Grisham's giant bestseller that is destined to be one of the summer's strong audience pleasers. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

The movie is extremely long (two hours and 34 minutes) and so slow that by the end you feel as if you've been standing up even if you've been sitting down. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The book moved at turbo speed. At two and a half hours, the movie crawls.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Pollack makes a solid job of it, as does Cruise. But solid isn't enough when it comes to thrillers -- or courtroom dramas, for that matter. Solid is great when it comes to office furniture. Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

Cruise was born to play company man, and the role is an opportunity to sum up his old roles and transcend them with his most potently emotional work. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Very 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 (two hours and thirty-four minutes, to be e... Full Review

John J. Puccio
May 19, 2011
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

...pits Cruise against the world, with only his character's wit. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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The Firm Trivia

  • In the 1993 thriller, The Firm, what mob family does the firm represent?  Answer »
  • The newest attorney at the world's most powerful law firm has never lost a case..But he's about to lose his soul.  Answer »
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