The Pelican Brief

Classic political thriller from the hands of Pakula. Pakula is familiar with the genre, the film is based on a Grisham novel, so you should pretty much know what to expect purely based on those parameters. Add a little Hollywood star power and you have a decent, though rather basic, and predictable film.

When two supreme judges are murdered, people are looking for answers. A young law student stumbles upon the reason, but this knowledge puts a big old target on her back. With the help of a journalist she manages to stay out of trouble, but she won't be safe until the truth is out there.

The film is quite slow and quite long, which aren't great traits for a film that is heavily focused on its narrative. The styling is pretty mediocre, the performances aren't anything special and the plot is by the numbers. It's a pretty polished film in its genre, but hardly worth a mention unless you're a real fan of political thrillers.