The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

1993-09-17 2h 21m
Thriller Crime Drama
6.6
User Score
1672 votes

"Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead."

Overview

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Alan J. Pakula

Director

Alan J. Pakula

Writer

Top Billed Cast

Movie Details

Status

Released

Original Language

en

Budget

$45,000,000

Revenue

$195,268,056

Runtime

2h 21m

Release Date

1993-09-17

Recommendations

Reviews

Wuchak

Wuchak

2018-05-25T19:22:27.602Z

Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington team-up in this crime thriller RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Alan J. Pakula from John Grisham’s novel, "The Pelican Brief” is a political drama/thriller about a law student (Julia Roberts) who researches the murders of two supreme court justices and shares her theory with her college professor (Sam Shepard) who, in turn, gives it to an FBI friend on a lark. The brief hits a nerve because people start dying one-by-one. Denzel Washington plays a DC reporter who teams-up with the student while Robert Culp appears as the president. While I prefer “The Firm” (1993), which was also written by Grisham, this one is along the same lines, albeit with a totally different story (naturally). “Pelican” has more action, but the plot/characters aren’t quite as interesting IMHO. Still, if you liked one, you’ll probably appreciate the other. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 21 minutes and was shot in New Orleans and Washington DC/Maryland. ADDITIONAL CAST: John Heard plays an FBI agent, Stanley Tucci a hitman and John Lithgow an editor. GRADE: B/B-