The "lawyers as janitors' theme, though a little heavy handed, is effective - those of us who are lawyers just have our cynicism reinforced by this portrait of a world weary "fixer" who longs for the crusading innocence of youth.
The predicted but unpredictable redemptive ending does not balance this bleakness, unlike in the Verdict, for example.
This movie is not perfect - as noted above, the "janitor" reference is overdone; the use of the title character's son as a symbol of innocence - and the extension of that to a fantasy novel which the boy pushes his Dad to read, and which then plays a role in Tom Wilkinson's character rediscovering his idealism (which his fellow lawyers view as insanity) is obvious. The ease with which the 'bad guys' mount their black bag operations is also unbelievable.
The nuanced performances by Clooney, Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack elevate this film above its script.
Less fantastical than The Firm, less leaden than A Civil Action, anyone dreaming of a career in law ought to be required to watch this tragedy.
The predicted but unpredictable redemptive ending does not balance this bleakness, unlike in the Verdict, for example.
This movie is not perfect - as noted above, the "janitor" reference is overdone; the use of the title character's son as a symbol of innocence - and the extension of that to a fantasy novel which the boy pushes his Dad to read, and which then plays a role in Tom Wilkinson's character rediscovering his idealism (which his fellow lawyers view as insanity) is obvious. The ease with which the 'bad guys' mount their black bag operations is also unbelievable.
The nuanced performances by Clooney, Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, and Sydney Pollack elevate this film above its script.
Less fantastical than The Firm, less leaden than A Civil Action, anyone dreaming of a career in law ought to be required to watch this tragedy.