Movies

Susan Sarandon should stick with the tough minded lawyer more often. Perfectly cast in the role of Reggie Love, she brings a certain charm to a role which could have lacked in that department. And to make matters even tougher on her, she was almost outshined by Brad Renfro, who made quite an impression in a film such as this. While the film was put together in a rather conventional way, with Tommy Lee Jones playing an over clichéd character, the film is still rather gripping. A decent film to have in your collection, and one of the better John Grisham book-turned-movie adaptations.

"The Client" is an enjoyable and well executed thriller overall. While the directing, script and overall product are far from amazing and sometimes quite bland, the Oscar level performances compensate for the easily over-seeable flaws. Perhaps the child of the title, Brad Renfro, can be annoying in parts he gives a decent enough performance nonetheless. Too bad about the drinks and drugs problem he has today. Susan Sarandon gives another terrific performance, this time as an alcoholic lawyer. Tommy Lee Jones' character doesn't have much to do with the plot but he's a welcome addition to the film, even though. While it is easy to find fault with the film it's easier to just sit back and enjoy it. I chose the latter so I thought it was a good, if not spectacular movie overall. 6.8/10.

Somehow the plot holes didn't seem so glaring in Grisham's novel. Anyway, this is one of Susan Sarandon's many excellent performances. And Tommy Lee Jones gleefully chews the scenery here. You might think he is overacting, but he is really playing a character that comes across that way. Brad Renfro was an excellent find for this part. I haven't seen him in anything else, though. I imagine his Southern accent will hurt in getting other roles. Current TV stars Bradley Whitford and Anthony Edwards were non-entities in this film. It's a good film, not great. Grade B-