Cast: Susan Sarandon, Brad Renfro, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, J. T. Walsh, Anthony Edwards, Ossie Davis
Director: Joel Schumacher
Producers: Arnon Milchan and Steven Reuther
Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman and Robert Getchell based on the novel by John Grisham
Cinematography: Tony Pierce-Roberts
Music: Howard Shore
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
It's not difficult to understand why The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client have all been bestsellers. They're tightly-written, don't require a lot of concentration, have simple storylines, and can be read in a sitting or two. In essence, they're what someone I know calls "good trash." Grisham is prolific -- and now, very wealthy.
Unfortunately, his writing makes for a perfect Hollywood screenplay -- lots of action and not much originality. The Client's greatest disadvantage is its flat plot, which includes few (if any) surprises and revolves on a premise that we've seen before -- in The Firm and The Pelican Brief, among others. Grisham apparently has a thing about a group of law officers going after some innocent victim of circumstances.
The Client's premise is tenuous in its believability. The movie starts out with young Mark Sway (Brad Renfro) out in the woods, watching a mob lawyer try to kill himself. Attempting to foil the suicide, Mark gets caught, and has to listen to a rambling confession before the lawyer blows his brains out. After that, hotshot prosecutor Roy Foltrigg (Tommy Lee Jones) wants Mark on the witness stand, correctly assuming that the boy learned the location of the missing corpse of a dead senator. Realizing that he's in over his head, Mark seeks out an attorney. The one he hires, Reggie Love (Susan Sarandon), takes his case for a one dollar fee. But a killer (Anthony LaPaglia) who believes Mark knows too much, is after the boy and anyone who might learn his secret.
Despite plot holes and contrivances, The Client is well-made. Everything about it (except the screenplay) is top-notch. Director Joel Schumacher (whose last film was Falling Down) has spun a web of intrigue by getting the most out of his cast and crew. With expert jobs done by the editor and cinematographer, The Client moves while having its share of dark, brooding moments as well as tautly suspenseful ones.
The cast is impeccable. Newcomer Brad Renfro portrays Mark with a palpable mix of anger and fear. Susan Sarandon gives her usual solid performance, and Tommy Lee Jones oozes equal parts charisma and false charm. Mary-Louise Parker, one of the better representatives of today's crop of twentysomething actors, is underused as Mark's mother Dianne, but she makes the most of every scene she's in.
The Client is an example of what happens when a production team does the best they can possibly do with a routine script. Schumacher has succeeded where two other accomplished directors (Sydney Pollack, who did The Firm, and Alan Pakula, of The Pelican Brief) have failed: bringing a Grisham novel to the screen in a manner that's more entertaining than trying. This isn't a masterpiece of suspense, but it has its moments and is capable of providing some light summer entertainment.
© 1994 James Berardinelli