Die Akte

John Grisham's bestseller becomes paranoia thriller directed capably by Alan J. Pakula. "Eager beaver" Louisiana law student Julia Roberts does some home research trying to connect the backgrounds of two Washington, D.C. Supreme Court Justices who were murdered; her theories regarding the two men--who wanted them dead and why--turns out to be scarily accurate. The brief manages to get into the hands of top Presidential aides, and soon a contract is put out on her life. Shady political business is mixed with detective yarn and a (semi) love story between Roberts and stalwart newspaper journalist Denzel Washington, who is excellent. Smoothly done commercial package, well-paced and entertaining, though exceptionally far-fetched (which parlays into the enjoyment factor). Roberts pouts too much, and her first meeting with Washington (talking in a weepy whisper) is awful, but there is chemistry between the two and they help gloss over the more nonsensical parts of the script (such as a chase through a parking garage--full of cars but no witnesses--and the ridiculous, fatuous way the writers explain Roberts' seemingly unending credit and cash flow--"I have the money my father left me"). The supporting cast is filled with recognizable character actors all playing two-faced sons-of-bitches, with the minor exception of John Lithgow doing a nicely benign turn as the editor at Washington's paper. *** from ****

Take any John Grisham novel and have it brought to screen, written and directed by Alan J. Pakula (Sophie's Choice, All the President's Men. To Kill a Mockingbird), and add Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington as the leads, and you have a movie that is worthy of 141 minutes of your life.

I love political films. You know that if you have read my reviews. Political thrillers are especially great. This one is well worth watching for the story, the directing, and, most especially, for the lead actors. I do not think that Washington and Roberts have ever disappointed me - OK, there was that License to Kill in 1984.

I won't synopsize - you can get that anywhere - but, I will say that you will not be disappointed. It's not a popcorn movie, you have to put some effort into watching it, but the rewards are great. And the chemistry between Roberts and Washington is fantastic!

Based on John Grisham's book of the same name, this movie is about the murder of 2 Supreme Court justices, and how a law student gets embroiled in the conspiracy. I would like to start by saying that this is one of the better John Grisham adaptations. Julia Roberts, who does most of the heavy lifting, and Denzel Washington both give terrific performances. The movie also succededs in successfully revealing things to audience before it is revealed to the characters in the movie. The only problem with this movie was it's length, although looking back, I am not sure if anything could've been cut. Also, the film is not as successful in creating tension in the chase sequences. But nitpicking aside, this is a very competent thriller and one that I can recommend to any thriller fan, and any John Grisham fan. P.s. - The only John Grisham adaptation better than this in my opinion is the Firm.

Investigative thrillers are some of my favourite movies, whenever I want to really sink my teeth into something and get absorbed by it, they are my films of choice.

The film carries plenty of tension, urgency and mystery which are the elements you need in this kind of movie.

The acting is first class and the film will not leave you disappointed :)

Back in 93 when this film rocked box offices, I was 13 and obsessed with it. I was such a weirdo lol. It was mostly Julia Roberts and she is still one of my favorite actresses. She stars as Darby Shaw a young law student having relations with her professor. She creates a document called the pelican brief as an explanation of why some Judges were murdered. Her lover passes it off to his friend in the bureau and it begins to circulate leaving dead bodies in its wait, Including her boyfriend. Suddenly she's on the run and finds solace when she reaches out to an investigative reporter played by a solid Denzel Washington. Together they must try and survive so that can get the truth out. Watching it now it's still quite entertaining but Roberts is a little over emotional and the actual brief is never fully explained. It's undoubtedly fun but their characters and the plot aren't developed enough to truly be effective. The end it's smart popcorn entertainment.

Budget: $45m Domestic Box Office: $101m Worldwide Box Office: $195m

3.5/5