A New Orleans law student finds herself embroiled in a terrifying web of intrigue extending to the highest levels of government after she writes a speculative legal brief exposing the activities of a powerful oil magnate.
Another John Grisham legal thriller comes to the screen, pairing Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in a film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who is known for dark-hued suspense pictures such as Klute, The Parallax View, All the President's Men, and Presumed Innocent. The Pelican Brief isn't up to the level of those films, but it is a perfectly entertaining movie about a law student (Roberts) whose life is endangered when she discovers evidence of a conspiracy behind the killings of two Supreme Court justices. She enlists the help of an investigative reporter (Washington) and the two become fugitives. The charisma and chemistry of the leads goes a long way toward compensating for the story's shortcomings, as does a truly impressive supporting cast that includes Sam Shepard, John Heard, James B. Sikking, Tony Goldwyn, Stanley Tucci, Hume Cronyn, John Lithgow, William Atherton, and Robert Culp. --Jim Emerson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
DVD flip?:
Does anyone know if this DVD has been re-released? I have the original DVD when it first came out and you have to flip the DVD over to see the last 20 minutes of the movie and that's not cool.
Yea Denzel!:
Hey, I'm a big fan of Denzel's, alright? Anywho, the books are always better than the movies. This one's no difference. I can't really put a finger on Julia's character. She seemed to live in a state of perpetual fear for being killed, which is understandable. Still, there's nothing to grab onto with her. She just seemed flighty and you turned to Denzel to provide some info on what the hell was going on. He's a natural of course. I'm not being biased either. He handles his scenes with Julia wonderfully by... more info
excellent suspense intrigue film:
Vey enjoyable mystery. Grabs you from the start. Excellent performances by Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. Each time you watch it you catch something you missed before. I recommend it highly.
One of the best:
If you want to be entertained totally, this is the movie to watch. I loved it,
