Starring: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard, John Heard, Tony Goldwyn, Robert Culp, James B. Sikking, John Lithgow
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Producers: Alan J. Pakula and Peter Jan Brugge
Screenplay: Alan J. Pakula based on the novel by John Grisham
Music: James Horner
Released by Warner Brothers
The Pelican Brief is the second John Grisham novel to make the book-to-movie transition. Like its predecessor The Firm, it's a disappointment, but that's not such a big surprise if you consider the pedestrian story that it's based on. Instead of wondering why Grisham's work doesn't translate well to the screen, maybe someone should take a step back and consider whether his page-turners are worth filming in the first place.
On one bloody May night, two Supreme Court Justices are assassinated (one of whom is played by Hume Cronyn). At Tulane University, law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) has a theory about who's responsible for the killings. Using the resources of the school library and several semi-public court case files, she develops what is later dubbed as "The Pelican Brief." Initially regarded as a wild theory, the short document comes under scrutiny when readers of Darby's work start getting murdered - beginning with her Constitutional Law professor, and lover, Thomas Callahan (Sam Shepard). As the nameless thugs close in, Darby turns to Washington Post writer Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) for help. Naturally, this makes Grantham as much of a target as Darby, and the pair end up on the run.
In the book The Pelican Brief, the particulars are different from those of The Firm, but the premise is similar. Grisham apparently has one basic story that he likes to dress in different clothes. That's all right, and it makes for quick, brainless reading, but neither of the movie versions has worked. Paradoxically, while The Firm's failing is that it strayed too far from the written version, The Pelican Brief's biggest error is in remaining too faithful.
As scripted and directed by Alan J. Pakula, The Pelican Brief is a straightforward visual re-telling of Grisham's book. With few changes, it follows the author's plotline, and includes a number of complications and secondary characters which seem superfluous on screen. The final result is an unnecessarily-long thriller that contains far more talking than action. Pakula's direction is lackluster, showing little of the style that permeated his two most impressive pictures, All the President's Men and Presumed Innocent.
Character depth and development are virtually nonexistent. Grisham's book isn't a tremendous achievement in this area, but at least we get some insight into what various people are thinking. With that element absent in the movie, no one attains more than a two-dimensional status, and much of the entertaining in-fighting and political wrangling is lost. John Heard's Gavin Verheek is a perfect example. In the book, we get to know him. In the movie, he's in about five scenes before meeting his fate.
The supporting cast is impressive, with names like Robert Culp, John Heard, Sam Shepard, and John Lithgow turning in solid performances. Likewise, Denzel Washington brings a calm self-possession, bordering on arrogance, to the role of Gray Grantham. This may be the only film character to approach the level of the book version, and much of it can be credited to Washington's work. Julia Roberts' Darby Shaw, however, is an unmitigated disaster. Roberts simply doesn't have the range required for the role, as becomes painfully obvious a few scenes into the movie.
Ultimately, probably the biggest problem with The Pelican Brief is that it's a letdown. After all the running around (and there's a lot of that), the gory deaths (there are a few of them), and the anemic plot twists, the payoff is virtually nonexistent. Instead of the rousing conclusion expected from a screen thriller, The Pelican Brief fades into an anticlimax.
Those who read the book have no need to see the movie, unless it's to satisfy the curiosity of how the conjurations of the imagination materialize through the filter of Pakula's interpretation. Those who haven't read the book will find material to catch their interest, but it's uncertain how long this ill-paced production will hold that attention. So, after the disappointments of The Firm and The Pelican Brief, we now await the cinematic rendition of The Client, hoping that for Grisham's books, the third time will be a charm.
© 1993 James Berardinelli