The Client

Sometimes, it's exciting to watch a movie formula jell on screen-and that's what you can see happening in The Client, the latest, and best, of three successive films adapted from legal thrillers by John Grisham. Read full review

With Grisham's high profile and higher paychecks, his novels-turned-movies always will be on trial by critics and readers. The only thing The Client is guilty of is being suspenseful, funny and worth an extra trip to the theater this summer. [20 July 1994, p.6B]

The Firm and The Pelican Brief, both of last year, were solid entertainment. Now along comes the movie version of The Client - the best of the Grisham film trilogy. Read full review

Let's get Sarandon and Jones into another movie soon; they're wonderful. Schumacher can direct and there's probably even a part for Brad Renfro. As for Grisham, he needs a course in remedial plotting. Read full review

In effect, The Client is a clever and pliant variation on the classic Hitchcock situation that puts a kid, instead of an adult, between the authorities and villainous criminals. Read full review

For a little while The Client seems as though it's going to be a battle of wits between the two lawyers played by Sarandon and Jones. The interplay between the two is the best thing about the movie. [20 July 1994, p.E1]

The Client, with a fast, no-nonsense pace and three winning performances, is the movie that most clearly echoes the simple, vigorous Grisham style. Read full review

Not particularly nuanced or fine-tuned, The Client, like its source material, is both gimmicky and involving, a fast-moving comic-book version of a comic-book novel. And while Schumacher has not been known as an actor's director, The Client is beefed up by a pair of satisfying star performances. Read full review

The movie keeps you occupied, but in a processed, unexciting way. Read full review

The setup in The Client is done so well, it deserves a better payoff. Read full review

The Client is an example of what happens when a production team does the best they can possibly do with a routine script. Read full review

Owing to a supremely engaging cast, The Client turns out to be stand-up Hollywood entertainment. Grisham's uninspired storyline can't ruin the efforts of two of the industry's best actors at the top of their form. [20 July 1994, p.E2]

With danger in every woods, elevator and hospital corridor, Joel Schumacher's by-rote direction will likely give audiences what they want: slick, superficial escapism with casting punch - ironically, virtues associated with the current flop I Love Trouble. To its credit, The Client moves faster and adds suspense, but ultimately seems as negligible. [20 July 1994, p.1D]

Unfortunately, the film rarely slows long enough for the actors to do anything more than sketch in their characters. On the other hand, the showdowns between Sarandon and Jones are choice; it's a meeting of charismatic equals. Read full review

Sarandon offers a lovely performance as the brash but starkly vulnerable Love, while Jones delivers a slickly entertaining portrait of a legal eagle who's more like a vulture. [22 July 1994, p.L28]

This movie is much like its brethren: pretty, with strong leads -- the most fun is watching Sarandon match her heavy-lidded orbs against Jones' demon stare -- great supporting work (especially from the sorrowful Parker and the regal Davis), and a tense chase or two from director Schumacher. Read full review

The Client is a satisfactory, by-the-numbers child-in-jeopardy thriller that will fill the bill as a very commercial hot weather popcorn picture. Read full review

The Client is slick, but not much more than the sum of its surfaces. [20 July 1994, p.23]