Jonathan Grisham had two books turned into movies in 1993, with the other being The Pelican Brief. This one is directed by Sydney Pollack and has a pretty big cast between Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Paul Sorvino, Gary Busey and Hal Holbrook.

Mitch McDeere (Cruise) is ready to graduate from Harvard when he gets an offer from small Memphis attorneys Bendini, Lambert & Locke. They ask for strict loyalty and confidentiality. They charge their clients high fees, which Mitch loves, because he gets an amazing house, a new car and his student loans all paid off.

He learns the secret that not all of their clients are legal, so Wilfred Brimley gets him laid and uses the photos to keep him in line. Cruise’s character, however, can’t deal with it all and decides to go to the feds, who are just as shady as the criminals.

In the original script, Mitch is killed. Once Cruise signed on, the ending changed. That’s how things work in Hollywood.