'The Pelican Brief' is all about mood and atmosphere. There are a lot of hushed phone calls from people who offer tantalizing bits of information and clues before changing their minds and deciding not to say anything else. Then they are usually killed anyway. They might as well have spilled the beans. I had a hard time keeping up with who got killed and what their relationship to the plot was. They all seem to be bland-looking, middle-aged white men with pudgy tummies and receding hairlines. But I could be wrong about that. Anyway, it's a good thing 'The Pelican Brief' is so sombre and sneaky and foreboding. Once the truth is finally exposed and brought out into the open, it's not terribly interesting. A rich oilman wants to drill for oil in Louisiana. In order to do that, he has to kill a couple of Supreme Court justices so their successors will rule in his favor. Oh, and the brown pelicans of Louisiana's coast will be wiped out as a result too. I don't know, I think if I was in this movie, I'd be one of the bad guys. I'd rather drill for the oil than worry about the brown pelicans. And didn't FDR have a court-packing scheme of his own? Of course, he didn't kill anybody. That we know of. Director Alan Pakula certainly makes the most of what he has to work with here by keeping the suspense level high and by keeping our interest, period. I've read several of John Grisham's books, but this isn't one of them; from the evidence presented here, I'd guess it's one of his lesser works. Denzel Washington plays Gray Grantham (does that sound like a superhero's alter ego, or what?), a Washington journalist, in a quietly authoritative manner. It's as if he dares anyone to question his honor. He is the epitome of journalistic integrity, if that's not an oxymoron. Were it not for Washington's considerable acting skills, his character would simply be too good to be true. He comes to the aid of Darby Shaw, played by Julia Roberts. In keeping with the film's quiet and suspicious nature, Roberts portrays Shaw as smart but increasingly paranoid, which is understandable as she is pursued by quite a few of those middle-aged white men who work for the President or the FBI or the CIA or some oil cartel... I was never quite clear on that either. It is an effective performance. I suppose part of the fun of reviewing a film like 'The Pelican Brief' is poking holes, or attempting to, in the plot's logic. For instance, I found it rather difficult to believe that the aforementioned intelligence agencies and assorted bad guys could not capture or kill the Darby Shaw character. She stays in various motels and hotels using her own credit cards; they spy on her, they tap her phone, but by golly, they never can seem to get their hands on her. She always outruns them or ducks into a crowd or jumps in Grantham's car at just the right moment. I know, this is standard issue stuff for a political intrigue/murder mystery, but it really sticks out here as improbable. It's almost as if they stop chasing her after eight p.m. so she can get a good night's sleep. There is a funny moment too (though I don't think it's intentional) during one of those many hushed phone conversations; Shaw calls Grantham to give him some tidbits of information, and when he tries to find out more, she says, "Don't ask me any questions." Grantham gets a confused look on his face and says, quite logically, "Hey, YOU called ME." In that moment, he has become a surrogate for the film audience. So kudos to Pakula, Roberts, and Washington for keeping things fairly exciting and interesting almost to the end; 'The Pelican Brief' does peter out as it reaches its conclusion. Still, it could have been a lot worse.
Review of The Pelican Brief
