Review of The Pelican Brief (1993) by Daniel O — 04 Feb 2010

Just caught this for the first time since it came out in the cinema. As I was watching it I admired the direction, thinking to myself "Schumacher can't have even been this restrained or thoughtful before or since, it's like he's remaking "All the President's Men".

Then later I realised Joel Schumacher DIDN'T direct The Pelican Brief but another one of Grisham's mostly interchangable law thrillers - and that THIS film actually was directed by Alan J. Pakula, the dude responsible for "All the President's Men" - a film which - like "The Pelican Brief" involves a lot of pre-internet grunt/journo/detective/door knocking work, and a film which ALSO requires (especially compared to most of today's ADD efforts) a fair bit of commitment and concentration from the audience to follow.

Thus it's a 90s film that harks back to some great 70s political conspiracy thrillers in its stately pacing and refusal to rush through or ditch important plot points. The supporting cast is first rate, and it's cool to observe the two leads at the point when their careers where beginning to skyrocket.

It ain't a rollercoaster ride sure, it's more like an amble: an amble without much of a climatic confrontation at all, but an amble with a few welcome pockets of suspense, and lots of nice moments, and John Lithgow and Bob Culp.

Intelligent and worthwhile.