The firm by John Grisham

The firm by John Grisham

This is not a book review but a summary of the famous book and also how it is different from the movie
This is because John has decided to release a sequel to the book, and this is time to be prepared on the premise of the book!

So if you are planning to read the book again yourself or watch the movie in the future then stop reading since spoilers abound!

It is interesting to note that this book was written in the year 1991 and released during the time so in all probability, people have to navigate the book at least 20-25 years back and since I have made the effort of reading this book again, I thought I would save your time by giving a summary of the book!
As an added bonus, I will also give a summary of the movie based on this book though the sequel is supposed to be based on the book and not movie!

It is interesting to note that the movie and the book follow each other very closely in the first half
There is a big deviation in the middle and the end is completely different in both

Some minor differences are there, even in the starting but then that’s creative liberty! Like Mitch getting a Mercedes in the movie instead of BMW in the book!

So the basic summary is that Mitch is a graduate from Harvard who gets into a firm who give amazing starting salary and bonus and joining car! Even before he clears the bar! While employed he is pampered with bonuses and the firm even takes care of his loan! They even give him and his wife a low mortgage house! Then with the busy hours he puts in they pile him on with work and he gives them the satisfaction of doing it much better than they hope! They even give him training to pass the Bar which he does with flying colors! Then you have the lavish parties and trips to the exotic places in style and then after some time a contact from the FBI burst the bubble!
Mitch finds out that the firm is actually a front for money laundering for the Mafia! Now he faces the big dilemma of becoming the whistle blower and losing his license to practice forever leaving in fear of Mafia or he keeps quiet and becomes part of the evil and one day gets arrested as an accomplice! The devil’s alternative indeed! The firm bugs his house and also does a honey trap on him so that he will remain with them while FBI constantly reminds him of the right thing to do especially since many lawyers who joined the firm have been found dead under mysterious circumstances .
Mitch also has a brother in Jail (Ray) who desperately needs a get out of jail card and he also hires Ray’s friend, a detective for doing some investigation which gets him killed. The good outcome of that though is that he reaches a decision on what has to be done and also gets the detective’s girlfriend to help him which becomes his best source of evidence collection and support! There is a leak in the FBI and that Ray gets released becomes public news. Mitch then has to collect his initial fee and run!

This is the first half and a little more of the book and the movie; from here the book and the movie takes big turns!

In the book they have not shown Mitch to confess while in movie it is a big show! The “did I lose you” scene is very popular even now!

The movie also gives more importance to the role played by Gene Hackman including a scene where Abby seduces him in the end and he plays an important role there. He also confesses to Abby how the firm Honey Traps recruits. There is no scene like this in the book.

The movie also gives more importance to Ed Harris or Wayne Tarrance but in the book he gets fooled by Mitch and how!

There is a whole chase and escape from assassin scene in the movie where Tom Cruise as Mitch cleverly gets rid of one assassin by another using his briefcase! There is also scenes involving train and meeting the mob directly. There is no scene like that in the book.

So in the book, Mitch collects the evidence, gets 1 million, gets Ray out and makes him escape using his friend. Then they all meet in some hotel and Mitch further steals around 10 million from the firm and distributes it generously! They all then just manage to kill one guy in self defense and escape to exotic islands and live in anonymity! The chief difference is that he is on the run from both FBI and the mob. Though his work and evidence leads to the indictment and trial of the firm eventually. But since he gives out client evidence, he cannot practice the law! What happens in the sequel is awaited!

The movie has a much better ending! He finally goes back to the firm and tells the owner and mob that they have been over billed! That scene is simply super and brings out the Tom Cruise of Jerry Maguire! He then states that whatever other dealings they are doing are safe with him even if he leaves the firm in accordance with the lawyer client privilege. They let him go, and then the files given to FBI will make them get the firm under lesser charges but it is a start! He gets to practice law!

Since everything is settled in the movie, but everything is open ended in the book, it is understandable that John is Bringing out a sequel! Waiting for that and also hoping that it is a sequel worth making a movie with Tom once again since he is now the king of sequels!

Enjoy the firm firmly!