Word: foltrigg
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...Firm's slick legal plot actually compromises the novel's success, Schumacher's pious adherence to the dramatic material of the novel--the Sway melodrama--significantly reduces "The Client"'s suspense potential. By the time Jones first appears (almost 15 minutes into the film as U.S. District Attorney Roy Foltrigg), we are beginning to wonder whether the "explosive secret" that Mark has learned is really important or whether the local authorities simply find the kid a good person to harass. With Jones on the screen as the ambitious and disgustingly smooth Foltrigg, the film comes briefly to life...
Happily, with the entrance of Foltrigg, Mark decides he needs an attorney to take on the feds, and Schumacher finally concedes to bring in Sarandon as the reformed-alcoholic/renegade lawyer, Reggie Love. In her strong portrayal, Sarandon turns a moderately interesting part into "The Client"'s highlight performance, occasional showing the impressive depth she captured in "Thelma and Louise." Had Schumacher fully exploited Sarandon's hard-ball verbal confrontations, "The Client" might have succeed ed as a fast-paced courtroom drama; unfortunately, Schumacher fails to commit to the dynamic court plot, preferring to interstice the Sway family drama with...
...film, we anticipate a quick, perhaps violent, resolution; "The Client" could have succeeded as a suspense-drama in the style of "Witness" (from which some of its story seems to be based). Schumacher opts instead to leave his resolution off-screen, giving us the satisfaction of neither Foltrigg's victory nor Moldanno's arraignment. Even the Sway's story is questionably resolved; Ricky, who lapsed into a traumatic coma after witnessing Clifford's suicide, remains comatose during the closing credits--perhaps symbolic of the film itself...
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