The Client ---- ***1/2 (out of 5) (1994)
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia
Director(s): Joel Schumacher
Screenwriter(s): Akiva Goldsman, Robert Getchell
Released on: July 20, 1994
Reviewed on: July 5, 2003
Rated: PG-13 - for a child in jeopardy and brief language
Two brothers named Mark and Ricky Sway that live with their mom in a trailer somewhere near Memphis, Tennessee decide to sneak down to the river to try out some cigarettes one day. Mark is forced into the car of a deranged lawyer named Jerome "Romey" Clifford while he's attempting suicide. Clifford lets slip some very important secrets about his murderous client, a man who buried the body of a senator in a place unknown to police. Mark escapes the car and hides before seeing Clifford shoot himself. Mark's brother is hospitalized because of post-traumatic shock syndrome, leaving Mark as the prime target of the media and FBI agents who will violate the civil rights of him and his family in order to obtain evidence that he interacted with Clifford before the suicide. Not knowing where to turn, Mark seeks the help of a female lawyer named Reggie Love. Because of his family's lack of money, Reggie takes him in as her client out of courtesy. But things don't stay that simple for very long. The client that Clifford mentioned is actually in the Mafia and wants Mark dead before he reveals any secrets about the location of the senator's body.
THE CLIENT is a film that rushes itself right into the vital points of the storyline with almost no character development for first-time actor, Brad Renfro, but in the short two hours he is given in a long, complicated film to establish a "bad boy" image for Mark Sway, he pulls it off and shines with talent. Now no longer a first-time actor, THE CLIENT will still remain one of his best films to date.
I cannot, however, say that every aspect of THE CLIENT is top notch. Mark Sway is a stubborn, rebellious kid who doesn't help the film to shorten itself down from the exhausting two-hour running length. He refuses several times to tell the truth about his frightening encounter with the desperate lawyer, that sometimes you just want to shout out that things will be resolved. There are lots of very dull sequences in the middle of the film that might tire you out, but yes I do admit that character development for Reggie Love is important and even some additional development for Mark's solid attitude about the whole situation and why he's so reluctant to confide in his lawyer to tell all. There's a thrilling moment at the end in which the film turns more suspenseful rather than remaining a plain crime drama. This moment occurs towards the end of the film and, even after the suspense dies down, the sequence of events still doesn't seem to have taken a giant leap in progress. Once things do finally settle themselves, it seems almost too hasty to finish up in the last few minutes, but it's satisfying nonetheless.
Based off of a novel by John Grisham, you can expect that THE CLIENT will be very complex. It doesn't disappoint on the level of intrigue, and the plot will probably be enough to trigger anyone's curiosity. Just be sure to sit through the entire viewing. All the somewhat dull moments will finally pay off in a kind of sad, but redeeming resolution.
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