THE PELICAN BRIEF

Listening to a recent episode of the excellent 'Screen Drafts' podcast I was taken aback to hear the view expressed by all three drafters that this film is superior to both 'The Client' and (gulp) 'The Firm'.  So taken aback that I felt the need to check it out for myself.

The first thing to say is that this is not really a legal thriller per se.  Admittedly things kick off with the somewhat unlikely assassination of two Supreme Court justices (performed in two different locations within a couple of hours of each other, by the same assassin!).  And one of the two main protagonists is a precocious legal student Darby Shaw (played by Julia Roberts).

But essentially this is a conspiracy thriller, where the conspiracy might lead right up to the President himself.  And who better to direct this material than Alan J Pakula, who in the 1970s demonstrated his mastery of this subgenre?  

The other protagonist is a reporter, Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington), and in the second half of the film when he and Darby join forces to try to get the evidence they need to blow the conspiracy wide open I was indeed reminded of Pakula's 'All The President's Men'.

Mind you it takes quite a while for the two to meet.  First Darby comes up with a theory as to why the justices were killed (written up as the eponymous brief).  Then various people who come into contact with the brief come to violent ends, including Sam Shepard, playing Darby's teacher and lover.

So understandably Darby is both traumatised and fearful for her life, which means we and Denzel don't get to experience the trademark Julia Roberts charm until very near the end.  But I appreciated the fact that the film pays us the compliment of not rushing things nor playing up the sexual chemistry of the two leads too soon.

However if a film like this is going to take its time it needs to deliver when there is some action or a suspense set piece, and here I felt the film disappointed a tad.  

For example I can't help thinking that a Hitchcock would have done a bit more with the scene where the aforementioned assassin (Stanley Tucci!) meets up with the unwitting Darby with a view to silencing her.

Things do build up however to a fairly satisfying climax, even if I was a little unclear at the end quite how much the President was implicated in the conspiracy.

But ultimately this film is worth watching not for the plot, or the direction, or the score by James Horner, good as they all are, but for the pleasure of watching two great movie stars ply their trade.  

Is it really better than 'The Firm'?  I would say not, but then again it is a long time since I've seen the latter, so maybe a re-watch at some point is called for.

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do