Review №3

The Pelican Brief

Cast:  Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington and Sam Shepard

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Synopsis: An ambitious student Darby Shaw made a problem for the US government with her article. The woman found out the real reasons of two judges’ deaths and wanted to publish it. However, instead of publication Darby became the most desired target who had to think to stay alive. She asked a political reporter Gray Grantham for help and they together started to fight with injury.

Review

The film is based on the J. Grisham’s book and it means that it pretended to be a law detective with interesting storylines and an intriguing end. The beginning of the film was not allowed me to get interest in it because of little actions and standard dialogues. Julia Roberts, as a student, seemed pretty and helpless but then my opinion about her has changed in a positive side. She turned out to be a smart reporter with clear political and civil positions. Her heroine Darby wrote a brief about the reasons, supposing them to be right, for two judges’ deaths. As she cleared up, they disagreed with the governmental desire to use a certain lake as a place for the extraction of oil. The lake had to be dried and pelicans dwelling there had to lose their home. The judges decided to save the environment at their lives cost.

Having found out such compromising brief the president of the US ordered to kill Darby Shaw and hide the materials. His political career got becoming in a great danger which he wanted to prevent. The best agents tried to kill the woman but she could stay alive in many situations. Sometimes it seemed as she was going to become died but as in every American movies, where the main character should reveal the truth, Darby could continue her way. And when she was absolutely depressed, a good political reporter Gray Grantham came for help. The woman opened all her secrets to him and faced him before a deathful danger. It is not necessary to talk that they could live through great challenges and revealed the truth to the world. Thus the political career of the president finished and Darby started to live without fear for her life.

I can say that quick actions and actors’ performance made this film good. After the explosion in the car where Darby’s professor and boyfriend (it was a one person) died, the movie acquired dynamism and rapid developments. I do not like Julia Roberts but I could not but say that she is a great actress. In my opinion, she inquired with the role of a young smart student and proofed her talent once more. Though it is a quite old film but her clothes style made me to be disappointed. I think students in the US wear more stylish clothes. As for Denzel Washington, I like him and his performance in the film. I trusted him as Darby trusted and I wished him to stay alive by the end of the film. Honestly, he remained me Barack Obama, I do not know why but not only because he is Afro-American (maybe, it is influence of the election).  

In conclusion I would like to say that “The Pelican Brief” pleasured me to watch the actors’ performance and the fight for the environment. Less and less people nowadays are concerned about the situation in the world and it is great that some human beings think about it and make something to improve its conditions, or, like in the film, do something to stop its deterioration. The world needs such films with good ends where bad men are punished and justice prevails. They nudge some people to make high-minded actions.