Tennessee. Mark (11) and his younger brother Ricky witness a car stopping near the wild and the driver inside trying to commit suicide. Mark tries to prevent this, but the man, mafia lawyer Clifford, drags him inside the car and tells him where the corpse of missing Senator, killed by mobster Muldano, is hidden. Clifford kills himself, so Mark is harassed by US Attorney Roy and his team who want to know where the corpse is hidden, as well as the reporters. Since he is in danger of being attacked by the mob, Ricky is in a catatonic state, and his mom is jobless, Mark turns to lawyer Reggie Love, who has a weak reputation, but helps him tremendously to find the corpse in New Orleans and get into the witness protection program. Muldano messed up, so his boss Sulari eliminates him.
"The Client" is a film adaptation of John Grisham's eponymous novel, targeted not because of quality, since his previous two adaptations "The Pelican Brief" and "The Firm" were mediocre, but because of the success of his work. Even "The Client" was a commercial success, but it stands out because it is one of the best adaptations of Grisham's novels. It is a work that is easily accessible, effectively made by director Joel Schumacher, suspenseful, with a lot of interesting situations and a good storyline, but overall somehow too conventional, predictable and with several plot holes that stymied its credibility (what are the odds that Mark and Reggie would try to search for the hidden corpse in New Orleans just at the same time as the villains showed up?). The most was achieved out of the three leading actors, veterans Tommy Lee Jones as US Attorney Roy, and especially the excellent Susan Sarandon as the sly lawyer Reggie with a good heart who often clashes with him ("I know where the body is now, but who knows where it will be in three hours?"), yet many often overlook the main star, the 11-year old Brad Renfro in his film debut, who delivered a surprisingly natural and genuine performance as Mark (in one funny scene, he tries to awaken his catatonic brother by taking several ice cubicles in his hand and pretending he is an Eskimo urinating ice). The crystal-clear cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts is stunning and makes even the most mundane scenes look aesthetic and pretty to look at. Despite its flaws in logic, only formal style (as opposed to some more broader spectrum invested in story and characters) and an overlong running time, "The Client" feels fresh even today and holds up well.
Grade:++
No comments:
Post a Comment