In a scene from The Client, the most recent movie adaptation of a John Grisham novel, Susan Sarandon pulls a gun on a thug, only to have him snap that she won't shoot because she's a woman. Is it just me, or is that a real hoot? I mean, didn't this bozo see Thelma and Louise! Besides, Sarandon plays an attorney in The Client — and as we all know from Grisham's potboilers, lawyers are nastier than a cornered bobcat.
The Client follows in the dubious footsteps of The Firm and The Pelican Brief. This latest effort, however, fares better than its predecessors. The Client's plot almost makes sense (unlike that of The Pelican Brief), and it manages to avoid The Firm's obsession with Xerox machines. Even more importantly, it has Sarandon, who delivers a fine performance that manages to elevate the movie beyond its story.
The film opens in a trailer park swamp on the outskirts of Memphis. Brad Renfro plays a foul-mouthed kid who accidentally stumbles upon a vicious mob attorney who's getting ready to blow his brains out. Seems that this lawyer has a client in New Orleans who's being investigated by the feds for the murder of a Louisiana senator, and the attorney can't take the heat. Of course, he also can't die without blabbing everything he knows to the kid.
That leaves Renfro caught in the middle between an ambitious U.S. district attorney (Tommy Lee Jones)and a and a murderous mobster (Anthony LaPaglia). With nothing but loose change in his pocket, Renfro hires Sarandon to protect him from both sides. Before you can say "nolo contendere," this graduate of the Memphis State University Law School is slapping thugs and federal officials around in a display of litigious prowess that should guarantee Sarandon a spot on O. J.'s dream team.
Luckily for The Client, she pulls the part off with enough deft skill to make the movie fun and — almost — believable.
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