Movie Description John Grisham's novel comes to life in Francis Ford Coppola's courtroom drama pitting the little guy against a large corporation. Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon), an inexperienced Memphis lawyer, and his legal sidekick, Deck Schifflet (Danny DeVito), defend a leukemia victim against an insurance company and its hotshot lawyer Leo Drummond (Jon Voight). Along the way Rudy befriends an abused woman (Claire Danes), helping her escape her husband (Andrew Shue). The courtroom scenes between Damon and Voight are the highlight of this legal yarn as Rudy learns the tough price of being a good lawyer.
| Credits | | Producer: | Steven Reuther | | Cast: | Adrian Roberts, Danny Glover, Johnny Whitworth, Justin Ashforth, Mary Kay Place, Michael Keys Hall, Randall King, Randy Travis, Roy Scheider, Wayne Emmons |
| Details | | Edition: | Collector's Edition; Widescreen |
Editorial Reviews "...[Voight] steals the show...with one of the most enjoyable performances of his career..." USA Today - p.10E - Mike Clark (05/29/1998)
"...A parade of colorful performances from a constantly surprising cast....Mr. Coppola's best and sharpest film in years..." New York Times - p.E18 - Janet Maslin (11/21/1997)
"...[Coppola] has made the most of Grisham's ground-level realism....DeVito's role is in the fading tradition of the star character actor..." Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (11/21/1997)
"...The film's visual solemnity is undercut by a healthy streak of cynicism, and at times -- a rare thing for Coppola -- it's even funny…" Sight and Sound - Philip Kemp (04/01/1998)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Razor sharp, with some great performances, this is as entertaining as it is intelligent." Ultimate DVD - Nikki Baughan (08/01/2007)
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