The Pelican Brief (1993)
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A law student's investigation into the assassination of two Supreme Court justices leads her into a dangerous conspiracy involving a powerful oil tycoon.
The story
After the assassination of two Supreme Court justices, law student Darby Shaw writes a legal brief detailing a motive for the murders. Her professor provides the brief to the FBI, but is subsequently killed in an explosion. Realizing the danger she is in, Darby goes into hiding and reaches out to a reporter for the Washington Herald, Gray Grantham. Together, they must navigate a web of conspiracy and threats as they uncover the truth behind the assassinations, which are linked to a massive oil interest and a high-stakes legal battle over environmental protections in a Louisiana marshland.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After the assassination of Supreme Court justices Jensen and Rosenberg, law student Darby Shaw writes a brief suggesting the motive was to protect oil tycoon Victor Mattiece's drilling rights in a Louisiana marshland. Her mentor, Thomas Callahan, is killed in an explosion, and Darby goes into hiding. She contacts reporter Gray Grantham, and they begin a dangerous investigation. They discover that Grantham's informant, 'Garcia,' was actually a lawyer named Curtis Morgan who was murdered. After narrowly escaping a car bomb and a chase through a parking garage, they reach the Washington Herald. They find a video tape and documents that confirm Mattiece ordered the assassinations. The FBI eventually takes Darby into the Witness Protection Program. The film ends with a news report showing Mattiece and his associates have been indicted, and the President, who received millions from Mattiece, is unlikely to run for reelection. Grantham acknowledges Darby's involvement in the story.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 141
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alan J. Pakula
- Writers
- Alan J. Pakula · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Julia Roberts · Darby Shaw; Denzel Washington · Gray Grantham; Sam Shepard · Thomas Callahan; John Heard · Gavin Verheek; Tony Goldwyn · Fletcher Coal; James B. Sikking · FBI Director Denton Voyles; William Atherton · Bob Gminski; Robert Culp · The President; Stanley Tucci · Khamel; Hume Cronyn · Justice Rosenberg; John Lithgow · Smith Keen; Jake Weber · Curtis Morgan / Garcia
- Genres
- legal thriller; political thriller
- Themes
- corporate greed; environmental protection; political conspiracy
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- legal drama; political thriller; investigative journalism; conspiracy
- Source material / true-story basis
- John Grisham's 1992 novel
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the performances of Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington while others criticized the length of the film.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 55% · scale: percentage · review count: 55; Metacritic · score: 50 · scale: 100 · review count: 15; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- It was the last film where Alan J. Pakula served as both writer and director.; The film was screened at the White House by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton.; The production included an additional, more upbeat ending filmed in Montecito, California.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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