The Client

Description: A young student of law who witnessed the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to be his lawyer when the district attorney lawyers him to lawyer a mob lawyer lawyering as a lawyerly lawyer.

All the credibility and intensity established in the first ten minutes is quickly shot to hell as soon as we meet Barry the Blade, a greasy mesh-shirt-wearin' Italian stereotype who looks like he should be standing between a cowboy and a construction worker while belting out a chorus of "YMCA".

Tommy Lee Jones drinking milk out of those lil cartons is surprisingly dainty.

Generally, I've reached the conclusion that most 90s thrillers like this, fall into a bizarre but charming "Bad movie professionally well made / Good movie heavy handedly boxed into format" sub genre, that has it's own charm. This one though is, despite a pretty impressive cast, just plain bad.

A boy and a woman, each having suffered at the hands of an unjust world, gradually become close. To what degree this is pure Hollywood nonsense is most clearly revealed when they decide that it’s necessary to travel to New Orleans to ensure the corpse is where the boy has been told it is. Still, three decades later, it seems impossible for big Hollywood movies today to show an eleven-year-old protagonist smoking cigarettes at every opportunity (Renfro would be killed by other drugs at age 25).

The Client turns what could have been an arresting legal thriller into a pointless slog. The story's setup is very good, but there's no narrative momentum here, no development, and no payoff. I'll give the film's actors props for some fantastic performances, but The Client is one of the weaker Grisham adaptations, for sure.

Just plain bad.

Mediocre & predictable plot: Little kid takes on the evil and incompetent adults and, of course, wins. Every role is pure cliché and (except Susan Sarandon) over-acted to the point of ridiculousness. Especially Brad Renfro (the boy) is painful to watch.

The only winner was the little boy in the coma who didn't have to watch this film

This movie started out really well with a tense and fun action scene and some nice set up for the subsequent case, but then it went downhill with silly bad guys and a plot that got too flat and then I just didn't care anymore. Correct acting but nothing special from Susan and Tommy.

Gotta love the "feel-good" 90's guitar during the closing credits. Nobody was on point aside from the kid and Sarandon, the rest were all caricatures of stereotypical 90's cliches.

Astounding performance by Brad Renfro. The story may not be the best, a bit cliche, although it has its moments, but the boy is just so genuine.

This needed a little less stupidity and a little more Tommy Lee Jones. I was halfway along for the ride until characters start being absolutely nonsensical and the kid crosses the line into insufferable, which he straddles from frame one. Jones is the most watchable part of this and he's really just a background singer. Reverend. Lawyer. Whatever.

Well made and engaging - and a good plot as you would expect from John Grisham. Some of the repartee was really sparkling. The mother telling the FBI "escaped, you mean you lost him, get like the FBI and find him!" and the boy buying the FBI pizzas with their own credit card left me chuckling for a while. Susan Sarandon and Ossie Davis added to the banter to leave the FBI looking stupid while still getting their help. .

That kid was such a bad ass

A predictable thriller rife with 90s movie cliches. The only positive thing about it is a great performance from Susan Sarandon

Decent, if not overly thrilling.

4

I think I liked the book better, but the film wasn't bad.

Wasn't Grishams' strongest material to begin with, so not surprising that it is a little lackluster. All the mains do their job, and I felt Renfro did very well in a tough role.

Normally I hate child actors, but the kid in this is really good and the rest of the movie is really great too.

Decent Grisham thriller with good performances by Jones and Sarandon. The little kid is pretty good too.

Bardzo solidny thriller/dramat.

The only fun parts are how Tommy Lee Jones says "nervous" in a Louisiana accent and him drinking milk out of a mini-carton.

Better than I remembered. Gripping. Good casting, ok script. Brad Renfro does excellently. One of Sarandon's better roles too. Bad guys & mafia threat a bit cheesy.

Fond memories cloud my judgment, one of the few movies I saw at the former casino on Catalina island.

Good

Susan Sarandon elevates this to "watchable"... without her, it would be a dreary flick indeed, although Tommy Lee Jones and his smirk are always fun to watch.

good movie

pretty decent thriller, the boy was pretty well played

I didn't know this was Goldsman and Schumacher, but now that I do, I understand it better.

Starts off awesome, starts going downhill, and lands flat on its face with one of the least believable gunshots I've ever seen. Very good acting, but just plain old corny by the time you get to the end of it.

I thought it was dull. It barely stands out in the genre, but you can't really pick any specific thing that the movie could have done better. It exists, and it might even entertain, but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.

Not bad, but missing point.

An okay yarn. I saw it in the theater, leaving pretty disappointed. Well acted, but the script is by-the-numbers.

Very average thriller, certainly not Grisham's best.

ok

Pretty standard.

Not the best Grisham movie out there, but still a good watch.

I just found this to be boring. If Grisham's your man, you might like this, but I just did not get into it.

Beware the wrath of Akiva Goldsman and Joel Schumacher.

Not bad.

A perfect example of how child actors can ruin a movie. Much of the movie is quite good, even some of the far-fetched plot twists, but that kid is so unlikable that it drags everything down.