Overview
A young lawyer's dream job turns into a nightmare as he uncovers dark secrets.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- paranoid
- suspenseful
- thriller night
- legal drama marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly viewed it as an entertaining, well-acted big-studio legal thriller whose institutional paranoia and ensemble performances outweigh an overlong, less focused screenplay.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mitch is seduced by the law firm's salary, gifts, home, and status before discovering that the privileges bind him to criminal obligations.
Mitch is squeezed between the firm and the FBI, then develops his own plan to escape both forms of coercion.
The prestigious Memphis law office, its partners, and its security apparatus become progressively more threatening as Mitch investigates suspicious deaths.
The film contrasts affluent professional rewards with the criminal power structure sustaining them, directly reflecting its critique of 1980s-style corporate security and status.
Films like The Firm, and why
The Pelican Brief
shares legal conspiracy, institutional corruption, escalating paranoia, and a morally trapped professional protagonist
The Insider
shares corporate conspiracy, polished 1990s studio thriller style, and an ordinary professional endangered by powerful organizations
Presumed Innocent
shares legal investigation, crime networks, suspenseful procedural storytelling, and pressure from institutions on an individual seeking the truth
A Few Good Men
shares paranoid thriller tension, corruption within a respected institution, and a protagonist forced into a dangerous counter-plan
Movie Details
- Director
- Sydney Pollack
- Release Date
- 1993-06-30
- Runtime
- 154 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (2419)
Cast
- Tom Cruise
- Jeanne Tripplehorn
- Gene Hackman
- Hal Holbrook
- Terry Kinney
- Wilford Brimley
- Ed Harris
- Holly Hunter
- David Strathairn
- Gary Busey
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Firm about?
- A gifted young lawyer discovers that his dream job is a mob-controlled trap and must outmaneuver both the firm and the FBI to survive.
- What is The Firm like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Firm as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Firm violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Firm as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Firm?
- Critics broadly viewed it as an entertaining, well-acted big-studio legal thriller whose institutional paranoia and ensemble performances outweigh an overlong, less focused screenplay.
- Which films are like The Firm?
- Films with a similar feel include The Pelican Brief, The Insider, Presumed Innocent, and A Few Good Men.
- How long is The Firm?
- The Firm runs 154 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Firm?
- In United States, The Firm streams on fuboTV, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
