The Firm (1993 film)

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This article is about the 1993 film. For the 1988 film of the same name, see The Firm (1988 film)

The Firm
The Firm promotional movie poster
Directed by	Sydney Pollack
Produced by	John Davis Sydney Pollack Scott Rudin
Written by	John Grisham (book) David Rabe Robert Towne David Rayfiel
Starring	Tom Cruise Jeanne Tripplehorn Gene Hackman Ed Harris Holly Hunter Hal Holbrook David Strathairn
Music by	Dave Grusin
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 30, 1993
Running time	154 min.
Language	English
Budget	$42,000,000 US (est.)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Firm is a legal thriller film released in 1993, directed by Sydney Pollack, and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Gary Busey, and David Strathairn. The movie is based on the novel, The Firm, by author John Grisham.

1 Plot
2 The Novel vs. The Film
3 List of characters
4 Trivia
5 Taglines
6 External links

[edit] Plot

A new attorney is drawn into a seductive law firm that seems to have many secrets. When he finds out who they are representing and what price has been paid by others who have come across the truth he risks it all to escape with his law license and his life.

[edit] The Novel vs. The Film

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film follows the book in most respects, but changes the ending. Mitch doesn't end up in the Caribbean, as in the book; he and his wife simply get into their vehicle and drive away from Memphis.

A more fundamental departure from the book is the motives and manner in which Mitch extricates himself from his predicament. In the book, Mitch is unconcerned about scrupulously following the ethics required by lawyers in the United States. By copying certain information and giving it to the FBI, he acknowledges to himself that he is betraying the lawyer-client privilege. Rather than dwell on this fact, accepting that he will not be allowed to practice law anywhere again, he shrewdly swindles $10 million from the mob law firm, along with receiving the $2 million from the FBI for his cooperation. He then disappears with Abby to the Caribbean.

In the film, apparently in order to preserve the personal integrity of the protagonist, Mitch steals no money from the firm. Instead, he exposes a systematic overbilling scheme by the firm, thus driving a wedge between the mob and its law firm. This alters the character of the Mitch McDeere created by Grisham. Rather than capitalizing on his circumstances for personal gain, as in the book, the movie's McDeere ends up battered and bruised, but with his integrity and professional ethics intact.

McDeere's confession to Abigail about his sexual infidelity was also unique to the film. In the novel, McDeere perpetuates this deception right until the very end. This further characterizes the McDeere of the film as having greater integrity.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] List of characters

Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) – protagonist; recent Harvard Law graduate
Abigail "Abby" McDeere (Jeanne Tripplehorn) – Mitch's wife
Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) – Mitch's mentor at the Firm
Lamar Quinn (Terry Kinney) – Mitch's friend that works at the Firm
Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook) – senior partner at the Firm
Tammy Hemphill (Holly Hunter) – Eddie's old secretary, helps Mitch get and copy the files
Ray McDeere (David Strathairn) – Mitch's brother, in jail for a manslaughter conviction
William Devasher (Wilford Brimley) – head of security at the Firm
Eddie Lomax (Gary Busey) – private investigator, friend of Ray McDeere
Agent Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris) – the agent in charge of the investigation into the Firm; Mitch's primary contact with the FBI
The Nordic Man (Tobin Bell) – William Devasher's cold-blooded henchman

[edit] Trivia

A scene in which it is revealed that the firm doesn't want its lawyers to have family money, in order to keep them loyal to their only source of income, is shown in some trailers, but isn't in the movie.
Gene Hackman's name did not appear in promotional material for the film. Hackman's contract called for his name to come before the title in all promotional materials (trailers, posters, etc.). Tom Cruise's contract called for his name and his name only to come before the title in all promotional materials. Hackman thus opted to leave his name off all promotional materials altogether, leaving his presence a surprise to most audiences. In the film itself, Hackman's name comes after Cruise's and before the title.
The scene in which Mitch McDeere meets with the Morolto mob in the Peabody Hotel was not filmed at the Peabody. The scene was filmed in a private apartment in the Shrine Building in downtown Memphis. The occupant of the apartment was paid to allow the studio to move out all of his belongings, and he stayed at the Peabody until the scene was filmed. The Peabody was not used in the scene because the hotel has only an obstructed view of the Mississippi River, whereas the Shrine Building is closer.
Jason Patric turned down the role of Mitch McDeere in a film that went on to become the third-highest grossing film of 1993.
The line "They don't run me, and you don't run me", spoken by Mitch, is a reference to the same line in Thief (1981), spoken by Frank (James Caan) in similar circumstances.
The Mercedes that McDeere is given by the firm, was given to Tom Cruise after filming finished.
Potential directors included Lili Fini Zanuck and Kevin Reynolds, whose $3 million fee was deemed to be too high.
One of director Sydney Pollack's original intentions was to have Mitch McDeere have an affair with an older colleague, to be played by Meryl Streep.
Robin Wright Penn turned down the part later taken by Jeanne Tripplehorn.
The film took only 23 days to take in $100 million at the U.S. box office.
Director Cameo: (Sydney Pollack) as the priest at the funeral of one of the associates who died in the Caymans.
The scene in which Mitch was chased was spoofed in an episode of Seinfeld when Kramer is chased by his Cable Guy.