The Pelican Brief – 1993
Drama – Legal Thriller
The Pelican Brief is a fast paced movie thriller so make sure you are ready with all your movie watching needs before you get started. You don’t want to miss a thing.
The book (1992) and movie (1993) was written by John Grisham and directed by Alan J. Pakula. It stars Julia Roberts in the role of Darby Shaw, a second year Tulane University Law Student and Denzel Washington in the role of Gray Grantham, a Washington reporter. Sam Shepard plays law professor and Darby love interest, Thomas Callahan.
The opening scene is that of graceful Pelicans in flight over Louisiana swamp land and the Gulf waters. It is quickly followed up by scenes of rioters, mysterious men and unexplained events that set up the story line. Right away you realize that this is a conspiracy movie involving high-powered governmental officials, greedy corporate business interests and the environment. Not a surprising theme for the time. In the early 1990’s the importance of protecting our environment and government involvement was a hot topic.
Darby quite innocently stumbles onto political corruption and an environmental cover-up that leads to murder, with the writing of a speculative brief that gets into the wrong hands. The story is brilliantly weaved and will keep you fully engaged.
After watching this movie, I promise you, you will be itching for another John Grisham thriller. Enjoy!
