arvard Law student Mitchell McDeere (Tom Cruise) is in the top five of his class, which puts him in the enviable position of receiving countless offers from firms all across the country. He’s in such high demand that the managers of the smaller company Bendini, Lambert & Locke of Memphis, Tennessee, go so far as to bribe various offices to reveal other offers so that they can beat them. Within no time at all, he’s wined and dined by partner Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook) himself, alongside the entire esteemed team, promising a six-figure salary.

“These are nice people!” Although it begins as if a romantic comedy, with Mitch’s wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) helping to celebrate the opportunity, embellished by Dave Grusin’s gentle, calming score, something is noticeably off. A weird comment by a party guest puts Abby at unease, while the appearance of emotionless security chief William Devasher (Wilford Brimley) is suspicious. Yet mentor Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) is whimsical, sarcastic, sharp, and funny; he’s a strangely welcoming counselor in the practice, realistic and sobering in his down-to-earth bluntness.

Of course, with its basis on the book by John Grisham (and directed by Sydney Pollack [“Absence of Malice,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “The Swimmer”]), a sense of encroaching disquiet is certain; this isn’t meant to be a fun-loving melodrama. Instead, it’s a tense legal thriller, what with a mysterious string of deaths within the relatively tiny firm in not so many years, which nags at the wellbeing of the McDeeres. Who exactly are these members and what are they really striving toward? And who are the valuable clients attempting to pay minimal taxes, and what is with the infatuation with diving in the Cayman Islands? “People grieve in different ways.”

Although it’s a little slow to unearth its darker secrets (its runtime is a touch overlong), with Mitch beginning his own investigatory work to dig into the enigmas of his employers, the pacing isn’t bad. It’s a continually interesting exploration of conspiratorial machinations, complete with assassinations, financial corruption, misuse of power, blackmail, and espionage-like maneuvers. But what really sells the story is the acting; the performances are absolutely outstanding, not just from Cruise and Tripplehorn, but from Hackman and a wealth of supporting roles by convincing character actors like Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, David Strathairn, Gary Busey, and more). Everyone falls into their personas with ease, remaining authentic and engrossing.

To aid in the entertainment is a masterful sense of paranoia; everyone is a potential enemy, while allies are rare. But the notion that Mitch is alone against far superior intelligence-collecting and resourceful opponents sets the stage for plenty of amusement; it’s terribly gratifying to see the protagonist attempt to outsmart such crafty, dangerous plotters. It’s also nicely twisty and complex (but with a few close-call contrivances that cheapen the satisfaction of oneupmanship and an overly tidy finale), culminating in a race against the clock that brings back the expert suspense (and a hint of physical action; despite dealing with lawyers, it was never orchestrated to be a courtroom-showdown type of picture). “The Firm” may not be the best of the ‘90s thrillers (“The Fugitive” from the same year really upped the ante on the genre), but it’s thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

– Mike Massie