Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.
The Client is a solidly crafted mid-90s legal thriller based on John Grisham's novel. The plot is engaging with a smart-kid-in-danger premise that keeps tension reasonably high, though it follows familiar Grisham thriller conventions. Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon elevate the material considerably with strong performances, but the supporting cast is more uneven. Cinematography is competent but unremarkable TV-movie-adjacent work. Novelty is limited — it's a by-the-numbers Grisham adaptation following the successful The Firm and The Pelican Brief, offering little that distinguishes it beyond its child protagonist angle. The ending resolves things satisfactorily if somewhat predictably, with witness protection providing a neat if conventional conclusion.