Review of The Firm (1993) by Nathan M — 22 Jun 2014

They don't make legal thrillers like this anymore. That's not really a statement about whether they should or not, more of a statement about this film's place in history. Masterfully directed by Pollack who finds interesting ways to convey information and to build a scene to get the maximum amount of tension and drama from rather small moments. It's a film that knows how to pull drama out of character rather than adding more violence and action sequences.

Cruise leads the cast, and everyone is fantastic. It's a movie that made me question why people were still casting Gary Busey at this point, and if anyone knew that Dean Norris would become the actor he did. Just like The Rainmaker, The Firm is a legal drama that feels just like a novel. The characters seem so real and the arcs they have all are fleshed out enough that they seem natural.

I love the fact that the film takes it's time, it doesn't streamline anything. Cruise's character finds things out naturally, there are few contrivances in the plot. In that way, I wish there so many more films like this nowadays.