The Pelican Brief Reviews

• Should make Ruth Bader Ginsberg nervous

  
  By A1TMAVN4CEM8U8 on 2008-02-14
  The Pelican Brief DVD
  
  The Pelican Brief is based on John Grisham's novelThe Pelican Brief (John Grisham) in which a student (played by Julia Robert's) discovers a plot to assassinate a couple of U. S. Supreme Court Justices so that two less environmentally biased justices can be appointed. Julia Roberts is beautiful as usual and Denzel Washington is superb, also as usual.
  
  Highly recommended for fans of Julia Roberts, Denzel, Washington, and John Grisham.
  
  Gunner February, 2008
  
  
  
  
  

• The Pelican Brief

  
  By A1OGPR0AKZ4K7D on 2008-04-05
  This is a movie full of intrigue and suspense. Denzel Washington turns in one of his best performances as Gray Grantham. Julia Roberts is equally as exciting as Darby Shaw a Tulane law student. Together they work to expose a criminal conspiracy that involves many high officials that include the White House. When attempts are made on their lives, it becomes a race to see if they can solve the case before they forfeit their lives in pursuit of justice.
  
  
  

• Fasten Your Seatbelts.......

  
  By A2ZSC81MXLBELX on 2003-02-20
  This review refers to the Warner Bros 1997 DVD edition of "The Pelican Brief".....

  "The Pelican Brief" is a poltical thriller that will keep you invovled from beginning to end. It teams legendary Director Alan J Pakula("Klute"/All the President's Men") with equally legendary mystery writer John Grisham("The Firm"/"The Client"). Then add these names into the mix...Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Hume Cronyn, Sam Shepard, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and a score by James Horner, and you've got yourself a great recipe for a well made film. And although I did not find it as compelling as "All the President's Men" or as suspenseful as "Klute" or "The Firm", I did find myself, thanks to the great acting, becoming totally involved with the characters and the storyline.

  Here's the story...Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. Brillant law student Darby Shaw(Roberts), who has a passion for constitutional law, decides to start do a little investigating of her own concerning the deaths. What she finds is too frightning to even believe. She prepares a brief, that winds up in the hands of government officials, and pretty soon anyone involved winds up in the mourge as well. Darby goes on the run fearing she is next and doesn't know who to trust. The only one she can turn to is investigative reporter Grey Grantham(Washington). The two race to prove her theory as they become the hunted as well.Lots of great action and intrigue keep the story going.

  The DVD is very good as far as the quality of the picture and sound. The widescreen presentation, lets you see all the action,the picture is clear and colors bright and sharp.The Dolby surround brings it all right into the room with you. The only problem I had with the DVD was having to turn it over after 1:17 into the film. I did notice though in the technical info that the release date of the DVD is 2/4/03. I have had mine much longer and although it appears to be the same DVD, perhaps they rereleased it. Maybe renting it first would answer that question. Not much in the way of "Bonus Features". There are some production notes, including how the cast prepared for their indivual roles(in which we are assured that Stanley Tucci, who plays an assassin, did not go out and kill anyone!), and there are some previews of other films made by Alan J Pakula.

  I would reccommend this film to anyone who is a fan of Grisham, Pakula, Roberts or Washington, or if you just enjoy a good thriller.

  Get the popcorn ready and get ready to jump!.....enjoy...Laurie
  
  

• ENGAGING, WELL MADE THRILLER JULIA ROBERTS IS SUPERB!

  
  By A2TAV6XYP1UB4P on 2000-10-23
  Juila Roberts in a great role shows her true acting abilltiy and proves she can hold her own in a serous role. Roberts plays Darby Shaw, a law student who writes a brief concering the mysterious deaths of two supreme court justices and soon is marked for death by hired killers and crooked cops. On the run she trusts no one except one man an ambitous reporter(played to perfection by Denzel Washington)who wants to keep her alive so she can tell her story. Amazing film with the right amount of suspense and intrigue, and what`s so good about this film it managed to rise above the cliches that usually surronds this genre there was absolulty no love angle between the two leads just an innocent woman on the run type of story. Based on the novel by john grisham and probably the best one adapted to the big screen. A little too long 2½ hours long but it reached a staisfying conclusion. The best scene was the On foot chase scene in the underground parking lot. Great movie a must for any Julia Roberts Fan.
  
  

• Entertaining, suspenseful, yet not "amazing."

  
  By AYMPVLWFKTAYE on 2003-02-04
  "The Pelican Brief" is a good story about an ambitious young law student (played by Julia Roberts) who, after the assassinations of two Supreme Court Justices, accidentally stumbles upon a high-reaching conspiracy. Curiosity spurs her to investigate, and she writes a brief upon her findings, unaware that doing so will endanger her life, as well as anyone else's life who reads it. Darby Shaw (Roberts) is a smart, savvy young woman who manages to evade attempts on her life by quick wits, a bit of luck, and a little help from a government agency now and then (whose motives are unknown for quite some time.)

  During her search for safety, she contacts a well-respected reporter (Denzel Washington,) who is known for his integrity. Together, they begin to unravel the mystery of the "Pelican" Brief, which puts both of their lives on the line as they try to stay one step ahead of assassins determined to stop the truth from getting out. Refreshingly, there is no love story between the two leads, although there is excellent chemistry and a strong bond between them; they do what they have to do, and mercifully escape the film without The Mandatory Love Scene.

  The story unfolds in a manner that holds the audience's attention, with only small bits coming out at a time; we don't find out what was in the "Pelican" Brief until well into the film, and even after we realize what's going on, the suspense continues unabated until the very end. The cast includes some heavy hitters, including Sam Shepard, Stanley Tucci, Tony Goldwyn, John Heard, John Lithgow, and Hume Cronyn (briefly,) all of whom do a good job.

  While the movie itself is entertaining and worth watching, the DVD is a pain in the patoot; midway through the film, it simply stops. No messages about flipping the DVD over, no nothing - it simply *stops*. Argh! You have to get up and flip the darning thing over (a true hassle for us lazy Americans, you know!) before being able to continue to movie - it really interrupts the experience in a jarring manner. There aren't any special features to speak of, either, unfortunately. Still, an entertaining experience, and I'll probably watch it again to see what I missed the first time.
  
  

• If you like Julia Roberts you'll love this thriller !!!!!
  By AW003H7Z3OCHA on 2001-02-27
  This is Julia Roberts best suspenseful legal thriller ever!!!! With Denzel Washington their charisma & chemistry are top notch.

  In summary Roberts plays a law student in New Orleans who writes a paper ("The Pelican Brief") which theorizes a murder conspiracy involving the White House! Naturally this draws attention to Roberts and proves to be true. An intense manhunt begins. Roberts befriends an investigative reporter (Washington) and the chase & suspense escalates.

  This movie & script really shows the depth of Julia Roberts acting ability. So if you want a very entertaining and nail biting movie get "The Pelican Brief" today. You'll watch over and over.
  
  

• This is another FLIPPY
  By on 2002-05-14
  This is a fine film and high quality DVD but for one major flaw; it is a flippy. That is you must turn the thing over half way through. Why must they do that?
  
  
• A good one, and well-acted
  By A2ODBHT4URXVXQ on 2003-12-21
  Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts are the leads in this dark suspenseful thriller. It's about a law student (Roberts) who discovers a conspiracy behind the murder of a couple of Supreme Court justices. Then, not surprisingly, when the bad guys realize what she knows, her own life is endangered. She turns to an investigative reporter for help, and together they go on the lam as fugitives. It's not great, great, great, but the chemistry between Washington and Roberts, the fear factor of being in hiding, and a great supporting cast will keep you too involved to risk leaving to go nuke another bag of popcorn without pushing the pause button.
  
  
• Star-powered escapist fare
  By ABN5K7K1TM1QA on 2001-10-02
  I have seen other movies made from John Grisham novels, The Client (1994 ) and The Firm (1993). I would say this is on a par with those movies, and is typical of the mass market "thriller" genre. For me it's like watching TV, or an airline movie: the treatment is predictable, the plot includes a lot of unlikely action morphed out by various CIA, FBI, and other serious types according to the general expectation of the audience on a simplistic level, with some creativity but certainly nothing original. This is a movie for a tired CEO to fall asleep to. Yet it stars Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington with an interesting cast that includes the very talented Sam Shepherd. Alan J. Pakula, who directed and penned the script from Grisham's novel, has a number of important movies to his directorial credit including All the President's Men (1976) and Sophie's Choice (1982), and some as a producer, most notably the celebrated To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). So what happened here?

  Just the usual gravitation toward the mean. If you make a movie aimed at a mass audience, what's the point of doing anything they wouldn't appreciate anyway? Roberts and Washington are here for their star power, not because of their considerable acting talent. Yet, perhaps inspired by one another, they both give strong performances that carry the movie and make this definitely worth watching.

  Julia Roberts plays a Tulane law student who gets an idea about who assassinated two Supreme Court justices and why, and she writes a brief about it, the "Pelican Brief." We see her deep in the stacks at the library doing research, sporting several hair-dos at a little table under various lighting changes, so that we know its daytime and then night, etc., a clear device about as original as the pages flying off a calender. Tulane law professor Thomas Callahan (Sam Shepherd) is her mentor and bed mate. She's twenty-four and he's about forty, but a girl can learn a lot from such a man and he's warm and loving. Nonetheless we are scratching our head about this match up, especially when he begins drinking heavily (one of the justices was his mentor), and we know now for sure he's not in love. Well, the guy that gets Julia Roberts sure as heck can't be wishy washy about his love for her, we know that.

  We are also scratching our head because Denzel Washington, an actor of power and accomplishment, is usually found in more serious venues. He's played Steve Biko, apartheid victim and martyr in Cry Freedom (1987) and Malcolm X in Malcolm X (1992). So what's he doing in this mid-brow flick? He plays a beltway reporter, right out of the annals of the Bernstein and Woodward legend, but there is little real acting for him to do. So why is he here? It's to play opposite Julia Roberts of course!

  So what we have here is a very expensive "entertainment" starring two real actors. (I wonder how much money this movie made considering what they had to pay Grisham, Roberts and Washington.) Surely the subplot has to be romantic. How IS Hollywood going to play the racially mixed duo? Inquiring minds want to know. (Hint: with great subtlety.)

  Julia is running, since the bad guys are after her. Notice that the plot conveniently gets rid of the "too old for her" guy. Try not to notice the other contrivances, the mysterious guy in the background who appears at exactly the last moment, for example. Just as one of the bad guys is about to blow our Julia away, he somehow blows the hit man away--by the way, getting blood on our girl. (It's enough to mention one plot contrivance per review, unless it's unusually bad, but there are others.) Well, Julia's getting the picture and it's pretty scary. She's on the phone as she's running from hotel to hotel, spending cash instead of using traceable credit cards. She can't trust anybody. Even the president of the United States is suspect, played incidentally with a kind of glee by Robert Culp as though impersonating Ronnie Reagan halfway into his dementia. Strange thing, Julia actually thinks you are supposed to really ACT in a thriller! Denzel knows better, managing a kind of controlled emotion throughout, saying as little as possible, using his eyes and making a lot out of silence, which is something an accomplished actor does when the script doesn't give him sparkling lines. Julia really does look scared, her face rubbery with a mean crease down the middle of her forehead. Watching just her, one could mistake this for an artsy-smartsy "serious" flick. Not to worry. There are some nice explosions and plenty of chases and all sorts of shadowy red herrings lurking about.

  Bottom line: If this is your genre, and you've just got to get away from that pile of papers you brought home to work on, go for it. This is standard issue escapist fare, true, but the stars really do shine.
  
  

• Good book, bad movie
  By A2AMS6K45R5LFL on 2003-11-28
  I was excited about seeing this movie because I had read the book, which was pretty decent. I always like to read the book first, and then see the movie. This movie, however, does not do justice to the book.
  First, the acting was very bad. Actually, it wasn't very bad, it was awful. I can't believe these other reviews that talk about how awesome the acting was from Roberts and Washington. Personally, I think Denzel Washington's acting is over-rated in every film he's ever made. The characters were just not believable. Secondly, there are several good parts from the book that are left out of the movie, or are not explained. For example, Victor Matiesse is not even seen in the movie. There is a very good scene in the book that adds a lot to the story about an agent visiting Matieese, and one of his goons stealthily kills the fibbie. That would have been great if it were included in the movie. The movie explains the killing of the justices in much more detail, and explains that they did not want the FBI protection; the movie portrays the FBI as a bunch of little schoolgirls. There are so many plot holes in the movie, that I can't see how anyone who hasn't read the book would understand what's going on. I really like Julia Roberts, but this is not one of her better films.
  John Grisham has written a good novel, don't use this movie to base your opinion of his work. He writes very well though-out novels and develops the characters well, he also does a good job of explaining what is going on. This is just a very bad adapatation. I should have saved myself 2 and a half hours and picked up another Grisham novel.
  
  
• Great movie but why do I have to flip it?
  By A1GHUN5HXMHZ89 on 2003-01-30
  Great story by John Grisham and acting with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. It will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat at least until you have to flip the DVD over to finish it. That's right they couldn't fit this on one side for some odd reason. At first I thought something was wrong with my DVD player or the DVD. Only when I took out the DVD and saw Side A and Side B did I realize. They could have at least put a message at the end of Side A for you to turn it over. Otherwise a great DVD. The chase to track down a story about a gangster that conributed to the Presidents campaign fund and how a legal brief ties it together is very well done. I would wait to buy it on DVD when they put Widescreen on one side and Standard on the other rather than have a Side A and B.
  
  
• Problem with DVD
  By A2EZGMI1HJ0IR5 on 2006-03-09
  The only objection I have to this DVD is that you have to turn it over half way through the movie to see it all!
  
  
• Law Student Topples Government
  By A1345VRK5MYG7 on 2001-12-09
  Julia Roberts stars as a law student who writes a brief about the murder of two Supreme Court justices, and through a series of connections, the brief ends up in the hands of the FBI and the White House. Her conclusions are far-fetched but plausible, and as people connected to her and the case start dying, it's obvious she has stumbled onto something. She goes on a run for her life, aided by Washington journalist Denzel Washington, who thinks she's on the right track. Roberts and Washington are very effective in the leads, underplaying their roles and allowing the suspense and plot to drive the film. The supporting cast has a lot of big names, each one solid, from Robert Culp's goofy president to Sam Sheperd's alcoholic law professor. The truth and the contents of the Pelican Brief are gradually revealed to the audience, keeping the viewer's interest, and although the film is long, there is enough chasing and intrigue to sustain it. Only at the very end, after the climax, does the film really lose steam. Most of the last ten minutes should have been cut or rewritten. The direction by Alan J. Pakula is competent, if not spectacular, and even though I have enjoyed other Grisham films more, I would recommend this for a good evening's entertainment.
  
  
• Exciting legal thriller
  By A3R132H7T53FD5 on 2003-02-07
  A bright law student scribbles a theory, called the "Pelican Brief", about the assassination of two Supreme Court Justices that hits a bit too close to home. Suddenly, everyone she speaks to ends up dead, while an arrangement of sketchy characters lurk around every corner. Darby Shaw, the young lawyer, tries to outwit everyone and eventually ties her fortunes together with Gray Grantham, a reporter with the Washington Herald.

  The movie is a fun legal thriller that will give your heart good exercise. 'Yikes' moments are in plentiful supply, and the colourful characters add a compelling element that keeps you interested and excited.

  The acting is well done. Denzel Washington (Gray Grantham) plays his role wonderfully while Julia Roberts (Darby Shaw) sparkles. They both play well off of each other, and there is a chemistry that reaches the audience.

  If you like John Grisham's novels, you should see the movies, including this one. Well adapted from the book, the plot line and characters follow the novel honestly, and nothing of lasting significance is taken away in the making of this movie.
  
  

• Could've been briefer.
  By on 2003-07-31
  A case of Alan Pakula trying to relive the glory days of *All the President's Men*. Problem is, *The Pelican Brief* is based on a pot-boiler by John Grisham, who, if the movies based on his stuff is any guide, couldn't concoct a plausible plot to save his life. Therefore, the "Woodstein"-style paranoia gets diminished by our incredulity. It's amazing how much Pakula had forgotten since 1976: in *President's Men*, the eponymous "men" of the title seem the more menacing because we never actually meet them . . . here, the President Himself (poorly played by Robert Culp) is a major character. The script makes him out to be such a manipulated idiot that it's hard to believe he could've ever been elected, let alone be at the center of a Byzantine plot to rid the Supreme Court of a pair of Justices who are inconveniently environmentalist. But the real doozy is at the heart of the narrative: a pretty young thang (Julia Roberts) makes some wild speculations about who was REALLY responsible for the Supreme Court murders, PUTS IT TO PAPER in order to impress her professor/lover (a surprisingly good Sam Shepard), who passes it on to his old college buddy, who happens to work for the Effa-Bee-Eye. Somehow the Pretty Woman's essay circulates all through the FBI, and eventually shakes the foundations of power in the White House itself. Naturally, the President (well, his Machiavellian chief-of-staff) puts a contract out on Pretty Woman. She eludes them all -- The End. Puh-leeze. Well, at least the movie is expertly directed and handsomely photographed, proving that Pakula hadn't forgotten EVERYTHING, after all.
  
  
• VERY GOOD
  By A39FS2ZLQ1076Q on 2005-04-02
  I read the book and was pleased with the movie. Very pleased. It captured the essence of the book without being too glosy (like a Time to Kill) or straying too far from the source material (like The Firm).
  Julia Roberts is terrific - so emotionally accessible and convincing as a brillant law student. Denzel Washington is solid - they have some nice chemistry. Also impressive is the supporting cast - I liked the score.
  
  Why does it get 4 stars? This DVD is one where you must flip over the disc to watch the last 50 minutes. This is a joke. Not only did this movie make nearly $200 million worldwide, but it got favorable reviews.
  
  Warner Bros. needs to re-release the picture just for the fact that I want to watch the movie without having to flip the disc over. It is the year 2005 afterall.
  
  
• Anyone/anything would have been better
  By A1T4IVIH6NUEXF on 2005-04-21
  Ok- so I can see there are some die-hard Julia Roberts fans out there. Too bad. Just raving about her will never improve her acting skills (an oxymoron). Actually, the poor quality of this movie is astounding, considering its director, the cast (excepting our girl Julia) and the book upon which it was based. Though he's done some much better work, when Pakula threw this film together he was clearly thinking of only one thing: "Hmm, 'Presumed Innocent' was a winner. Let's follow that same formula and do another one. It'll sell." Unfortunately, by the time the story from the book by John Grisham got to the screen, it lacked any of its original punch. As for Denzel, he should be ashamed of himself. He's about as enthusiastic in this as a turtle heading for the beach. I guess he probably needed the cash for another house. Then again, he's opposite Julia. No further comment needed -other than, save your money.
  
  
• Mediocre political thriller.
  By AKVNA706X53OP on 2000-05-20
  "The Pelican Brief" was alright, but it was nowhere near as good as other political conspiracy films. The dialogue was 50/50: half of it was interesting; half just seemed like B.S. Grisham filler material.

  I might have liked the movie a little more if it wasn't for that god-awful, nails-on-chalkboard, dramatic music that pops up every ten minutes.

  Washington, Lithgow, and Roberts have all done films ten times better than this one, and it seems like they were harvested to salvage a crummy script based on an even crummier book.

  But that's just my opinion.
  
  

• EXCELLENT. VERY SUSPENSEFUL.
  By on 1999-07-05
  The Pelican Brief is a wonderful movie. It is very suspenseful, and has a wonderful story line. It is like you are Julia Roberts at one point. It is very scary and exciting all at once. Believe me, at this price, it is a steal. It's like the Director is in Direct line to Alfred Hitchcock and they have the same talent.
  
  
• needed romance
  By on 1999-10-31
  listen hollywood when you put two of the most important faces in hollywood together you need to showcase all aspects of them.the story is okay but because of hollywood's interracial hangup's this film never sizzles like it should.
  
  
• A truly realized vision from Alan Pakula and John Grisham.
  By AWFGBLPV1KUM on 1999-03-07
  For those of us who aren't spoiled by the frills that accompany some DVDs, "The Pelican Brief" was an incredible movie worth buying. The plot was intriguing, and the story unfolded in such a manner that it kept the audience guessing. Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington delivered extraordinary performances as well, making the experience all the more positive. While some people find DVDs to lack virtue unless they are loaded with extras, those of us who can appreciate true cinema will no doubt find this movie to be an incredible achievement and incarnation of a fantastic John Grisham novel.
  
  
• Oh dear!
  By A1QRR3RPB2XXLX on 2002-11-06
  I though that this was going to be a good thriller when I hear about it-two good stars, a good cast, and a good plot, but...oj dear, how wrong I was! The only way you can really enjoy this waste of your time is if you are a fan of Julia Roberts-although all she really does is run around evading her persuers and then whispering in an effort to simulate fear and grief. Denzel Washington is a wonderful actor, but he only comes into the story proper about half way through, and the script does not give him much chance of originality in his performance.. At the beginning I though the film would improve, and that it was just build up, but when it stayed the same all the way through I nearly screamed in exsasperation. The action set piece, if you could call it that, was a very tame affair, basically, Julia and Denzel running around in a multi-storey car park being chased by villians. What this film needed was some good action to relieve the boredom, and for Julia NOT TO WHISPER in the vital revelation scene when she explained all. If you want to see a good movie, go somewhere else!
  
  
• Relax and Enjoy
  By A26JGAM6GZMM4V on 2003-08-12
  This is one of my favorites among several films based on John Grisham's novels, the others being The Firm and The Client. None is a great film but all three are consistently entertaining. Grisham's skills are those of a storyteller. There is little (if any) character development. However, as is also true of many of Hitchcock's films, the leading characters become involuntarily involved in a process of discovery and soon find themselves in harm's way. Young law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) completes what she calls "The Pelican Brief" without fully realizing how threatening and potentially dangerous its contents could be to the administration of an incumbent president played by Robert Culp. She becomes a fugitive, eventually aided by Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington), a newspaper reporter who helps her to gather the additional information she needs to (literally) save her life. Most of the time, the narrative moves along at a brisk pace. Roberts and Washington deliver solid performances as do John Heard, James B. Sikking, and John Lithgow.

  I'm not damning with faint praise when suggesting that although this is not a great film, it's worth seeing again from time to time...unlike so many others both you and I could name.
  
  

• Sorry for the huge and famous cast
  By A2AOUHBZ1HXO5D on 2006-01-28
  This movie comes from John Grisham's novel of the same title. Most of the actions taking place in the novel were also presented in this movie. The spotlight reviews goodly summarize the movie, even when I don't agree with their rankings.
  
  The first movie's problem is the character's personalities, less credible many times. One reviewer well said the FBI's personnel looks rather wimpy. The merciless Coal Fletcher looks like a simple clerk while he is the real president in the novel. On the other hand, the novel's heroine (Darby Shaw) losses her strong personality but at the same time behaves in obnoxious ways. For example, in one scene, she asks her best female friend to spread a gossip in college but Darby does not care whatsoever for her friend's safety as in the novel; Darby even tells her that "it's not good for her (Darby) to stay there". Darby does all the opposite in the novel. Next, her friend does all what she says, this not credible.
  
  The second movie's error is the way the show the events. For example, as I said Fletcher is not portrayed as a tough way, there's even an scene where we see his seeing his family's picture at his desk, really charming; however he is still punished in the movie. Any honest person who does not let to be impressed by the reputations of the actors and director should admit that the movie is not always understandable. I watched this movie right when released in 1992 and I didn't understand it but the huge Julia Roberts' success was on its highest so I didn't think much, just considered it was sort of boring. Now, I read the novel, watched the movie again and understood the movie was flawed. In fact, all bad guys in the movie were only small fishes who chased Darby.
  
  I also complain that the movie shows some misbehaviour as good ones. For example, in one scene the president asks the FBI chief (Voyles) to stop a crime investigation. Voyles offers to do it in exchange of favours. This is plain corruption yet the movie made it look like a cocktail party! In another scene one character (Callahan) is about to start driving while drunk and Darby only plays a little bit to stop him just to finally let him get on his car.
  
  The movie added a few action scenes the novel doesn't have, yet it is quite boring. The novel has less action, yet it is more exciting.
  
  
• The Pelican Brief
  By A1JZF95FGMPN2 on 2007-01-12
  Living in the area, I love to view the scenery and enjoy the atmosphere of New Orleans so I never get tired of looking at The Pelican Brief. I even have friends that appear as "extras" in this movie. I am extremely disappointed in the DVD. It has to be truned over to view the second half of the movie.
  
  
  
• Supernatural Thriller!!
  By A1A77SFWWN71BL on 2001-01-01
  This movie is simply one of the best thrillers I've ever seen! I think those people who didn't think much of it, didn't quite understand the basic plot! Maybe not paying enough attention or interest, because if you did; you'll love it!!

  I had to watch it a couple of times before I understood the whole thing, but I was only 13 years old then, now I'm 15! But this movie will give you the chills for the rest of the night, knowing that if you knew "something"...who would want to kill you? That feeling is continuely following Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) right to the end of the movie... And what would you do when there's only one man you can trust who wants your story, when everybody else wants you dead...?
  
  

• Don't Buy This One!
  By A3IVWNSONC6EHJ on 2003-01-12
  Don't get me wrong it is a good movie worth watching. The problem is not with the movie it is the cheap studio that released it on DVD. It is a flipper! If you do not know what i flipper is, it is when the studio rather than using dual layers to fit the entire movie on one side of the disc choose to break the movie into two parts so that to finish watching the movie you have to get up from you comfortable spot on the couch to flip the disc over to finsh watching it. So unless you enjoy the little exercise you get from having to do this wait until the re-release it proper.
  
  
• ERIN BROCKOVICH MEETS JOHN Q
  By A3LZGLA88K0LA0 on 2004-10-22
  Without the star presenced of Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, THE PELICAN BRIEF might not succeed. But these two megastars in their earlier days bring their own charisma to this Alan J. Pakula directed version of John Besteller Grisham's novel. A labyrinthine plot that sometimes seems convoluted and implausible takes the backseat to the reactions of its characters and the all too suspicious government.
  Pakula, best known for ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and KLUTE, sets up our heroes in a conspiracy involving the assassination of two elderly supreme court justices. Roberts is a brilliant law student who comes up with titular brief, and then has to turn to reporter Washington to help expose the high ranking parties responsible. It's all shameless manipulative plotting, but the leads do well and we find ourselves rooting for them. The supporting cast has its ups and downs--the ups: the ever dependable Tony Goldwyn (Joshua, Ghost) as the presidential press secretary; John Lithgow as Washington's irascible boss; Stanley Tucci as the chameleonic assassin; and John Heard as a friend of Washington's who gets snuffed. The downs: Robert Culp as a mentally challenged president, and William Atherton in a wasted role as an FBI agent.
  I haven't read the book, but the movie succeeds as a paen to the talents of its leads.
  
  
• Paranoid View of Politics
  By A3MV1KKHX51FYT on 2006-02-07
  The film shows signs carried by people demonstrating against a Supreme Court judge. Later an assassin kills this judge. Another judge is strangled while watching an "art film". [What, not Executive Protection?] The effect will allow the President to change the Court. A law student begins to investigate the motive by looking at past decisions, which always have some economic effect. This is brought to the notice of the authorities by a law professor. Afterwards, the car with the professor explodes, killing him; the law student escapes by luck. But now "they" are going after her!
  
  The crowd scenes recall other suspense thrillers. Their point is that you can't be safe even on a crowded street. The law student calls a government official; he is the next victim of the assassin. The assassin stalks the law student, but somebody shoots him! We learn there is a court case designed to protect pelicans against oil drilling in a marsh. The justices killed would have ruled against the oil company (or maybe not?). The law student and the reporter continue to follow the trail, and avoid sinister people. The conspirators follow this pair to a safe-deposit box. Their car is rigged with a bomb while they're in the bank! Then a gunman shoots at them when they flee! [This action should wake up anyone snoozing.] But the hero and heroine escape with the videotape and documents to expose the murders and the cover-up. The heroine's reward? To flee the country! What a sad ending to her career. But its better than having her killed at the end for sympathy.
  
  You can see echoes of earlier films, like from Hitchcock, or "Blow Out". Stories that recall Watergate or Reagan's secret funding of South American rebels. I didn't read the original novel, so I can't comment as to its faithfulness to the original novel. There is an anti-democratic message in the film that mocks people who legally demonstrate in the street.
  
  
  
• Good Suspense
  By A1R602SXNGOMJ4 on 2006-11-19
  Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) is a law student at Tulane who writes her own theory about who arranged for the assassination of two Supreme Court justices and why. The unfortunate thing is, her theory is right on the money, and once it starts circulating it results in a number of deaths. Investigative reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) turns out to be the one person she can trust and rely on.
  
  "The Pelican Brief" is a solid and entertaining (if lengthy) political / newspaper / legal thriller from the director of "All The President's Men". It keeps its grip thanks to genuinely good film-making and an excellent cast. The climax is reasonably suspenseful.
  
  Engrossing plot typical of Grisham, but for me the closing scene makes this movie. It's so much more dramatic than just having Darby and Gray ride off into the sunset together.
  
  

• The Client
• A Time to Kill
• The Firm
• John Grisham's The Rainmaker (Special Collector's Edition)
• Erin Brockovich