External Reviews

est un film américain réalisé par Joel Schumacher, sorti en 1994

et basé sur le roman Le Client de John Grisham.

Walsh is always good. Mary-Louise Parker never makes a wrong move as the stressed-out mother. Ossie Davis is a monumental presence as the judge. Bill Macy is given only a few lines.The script isn't bad either, especially in the first half of the film, in which the characters are being established. There are, alas, three clichés.The bad guys LOOK like move bad guys usually look. They dress in black, have long greasy hair, are engraved with threatening jailhouse tattoos of barbed wire and things, and they never seem to enjoy themselves.

There are also two stereotypical scenes which really should have been avoided. In the first, the boy, Renfro, is trying to sneak out of a hospital. He pokes his face through a door into the reception room, where he sees his mother and two cops walking around. In the shadows he also spots the man he knows is trying to murder him. So what does he do? Does he run to his Mom and the police for protection? Certainly not. He does what aay potential murder victim would do. He dashes away from safety, down several flights of an empty stairway, followed closely by the squinter with a knife. The scene that follows is lifted straight out of "Coma," with the killer being locked in a refrigerator.

The other stereotyped situation is towards the end, when (just by the most improbable of coincidences) Sarandon and Renfro reach an empty boat house at the same time as three of the heavies.The two innocents try to avoid being discovered. There is a lot of tiptoeing around on creaky boards, a foot chase through some bushes, one of those scenes in which one person holds a gun on a second, and the second smiles and says, "You don't have the guts to pull the trigger," and walks up closer to the muzzle.

I've pointed out these weaknesses not because this is a bad movie. It's really pretty good. But the cast is so outstanding that any weakness in the story is the more highly illuminated. See it, if only to see the range of facial expressions into which Jones is able to fashion his face.

 

Résumé Wiki 

Le jeune Mark Sway est témoin du suicide d'un avocat véreux qui se confesse à lui avant de mourir. Mark est alors à la fois courtisé par la police et traqué par les mafiosi. Il refuse de parler mais, conscient du danger qu'il court, il se décide cependant à engager une avocate, Reggie Love, qui accepte de le défendre pour un dollar symbolique.

Susan Sarandon should stick with the tough minded lawyer more often. Perfectly cast in the role of Reggie Love, she brings a certain charm to a role which could have lacked in that department. And to make matters even tougher on her, she was almost outshined by Brad Renfro, who made quite an impression in a film such as this. While the film was put together in a rather conventional way, with Tommy Lee Jones playing an over clichéd character, the film is still rather gripping. A decent film to have in your collection, and one of the better John Grisham book-turned-movie adaptations.

Résumé 3
Mark Sway, âgé de onze ans, et son frère cadet, Ricky, sont partis fumer en cachette dans les bois où ils sont témoins du suicide de Romey Clifford, avocat de la pègre. Mais avant son geste fatal, Clifford,ivre, s'est confessé à Mark, en lui révélant l'endroit où a été enterré le corps du sénateur Boyette, abattu par la mafia.

 Cet aveu fait de Mark le témoin numéro un dans cette affaire, et il en est conscient. Il devient par la même occasion très gênant pour Muldano et ses sbires, qui cherchent coûte que coûte à le tuer. Le procureur Foltrigg,candidat aux prochaines élections, va se servir de ce jeune témoin sans se soucier de sa sécurité.

'The Client' is perhaps one of the many films that won't be enjoyed as much after one has read the book. I, having not read John Grisham's novel, quite enjoyed it. Sure the movie has its flaws in the form of plot holes, caricatures, obvious clichés etc, but it essentially manages to keep the viewer engaged. 'The Client' is further backed up by strong performances.

Susan Sarandon makes full use of her powerful screen presence and easily stands out. No wonder she's an exceptional actress. Reggie Love is one of her most memorable performances (among the so many she's already given). The late Brad Renfro, as the young Sway, is very competent and does impress in several scenes.

Tommy Lee Jones is funny (both intentionally and unintentionally). From the supporting cast, Mary-Louise Parker leaves a mark. William H. Macy barely has more than a few lines but has a dignified presence. The villains both look and act like caricatures. In a nutshell, it's an interesting film with a flawed but gripping plot and marvelous performances.