A Bird’s Eye View of the Pelican Brief

Pelican Brief was released in theatres on December 17, 1993, grossing $195,000,000 worldwide.  Alan J. Pakula, who is also known for Sophie’s Choice and All The President’s Men, directed the movie. Alan J. Pakula based The Pelican Brief on the novel by John Grisham. The movie was nominated at the1994 MTV Movie Awards for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Male, and it won the ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films in 1994. This jam-packed, 141-minute thriller starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington will keep any viewer on the edge of their seat. Just make sure you pay attention!

The Pelican Brief starts off by showing the assassination of two Supreme Court Judges. This assassination angered the entire nation, including a young aspiring lawyer by the name of Darby Shaw, played by Julia Roberts. This character is a 23 year-old law student at Tulane University. Darby is actually having an affair with one of the law Professors at Tulane, Thomas Callahan, played by Sam Shepard. When news venues are buzzing about the assassinations, Darby decided it was worth investigating. She speaks with her lover Thomas about the connection these two judges may have to each other. Thomas points out that they did not agree on many cases and that it would be incredibly difficult to find a substantial connection. The news was making it out to seem like these two assassinations may not have been correlated. However, Darby relentlessly researched until she found the tie, and once she did, there was no stopping the aftermath.

The audience will spend about half of the movie wondering about the connection that Darby discovered and why she entitled it “The Pelican Brief”. I sat there wondering what birds could possibly have to do with the assassination of two Supreme Court judges. Thomas passes on the brief by Darby to his friends in the FBI, and it eventually gets into the hands of the President of the United States. Although you don’t yet know what “The Pelican Brief” is, you are told that it is far fetched. In fact, the FBI did not even take it seriously in the beginning because it was such a conspiracy. But as the main characters are put in more and more danger, the brief gains more and more credibility.  

For the remainder of the movie, Darby stopped at nothing to see if this theory was true or fallacy. As Darby’s life became more and more dangerous, she did not know whom to turn to. She decided to turn to a news reporter that works for the Washington Herald. Gray Grantham, played by Denzel Washington, did not originally trust Darby Shaw either, but once he realized the truth behind her statements, he joined her for an amazing journey.

Given that stating the conspiracy theory itself would ruin the movie for any newcomer, it will remain secret. I can tell you, however, that I, along with millions of other moviegoers experienced an “AHA!” moment, when it all tied together. I really enjoyed how they broke the secret to the audience, while still leaving some information for the audience to figure out themselves.

The genre that The Pelican Brief categorizes with is drama, due to its twist-filled plot. It is rather typical in containing protagonists, Darby and Grey, and antagonists, the government conspirators. Having sectors of the government on the negative side really draws in an audience. In real life, we are told to believe that the government always has its people positively at the epicenter of its rulings. And although there have been history-making scandals in the United States, such as Watergate, we would still like to believe that the men in our government have the correct moral. Due to the audience's intrigue growing by the antagonist, the plot appeals more to the general public. We all hope for stories like The Pelican Brief to be completely fictional, but unfortunately, this has not always been the case.

Another interesting fact that I believe led to its box office success was its depiction of real life people and reality in general. The movie progressed at a pace that many audience members would say appeared realistic. It gets many thinking about if events like this are really occur more often than we realize. Plus, Darby, Thomas and Gray, for example, appeared so average in demeanor. Darby was also a character that many audience members could look up to. She had an idea that many became incredulous about, but she did not let that stop her. She believed in her hard work, and it was her determination and strife that made her admirable. Gray also had very similar traits. And it was their attitude, yearn and angst for the truth that gives the audience hope.

But I must warn you, if you don’t like conspiracy theories, you may not enjoy The Pelican Brief. This movie enthralls the thrill and suspense of uncovering the truth, while keeping the audience enticed. So if you are the sort of person that you rather sit back and relax, as opposed to being on the edge of your seat, The Pelican Brief may not be for you.

My basis for recommending this movie is based on more than the aesthetic beauty of the characters. The plot is filled with realistic twists and action, without incorporating too much gore. There are also surprises and periods throughout the movie where the audience is left guessing. When a movie brings out those sorts of emotions, I tend to enjoy it. And as a conspiracy theorist myself, the plot makes you wonder about this events potential. There is definitely a reason that this movie was so successful.

WORKS CITED:

1.     www.imdb.com/pelicanbrief

2.     www.netflix.com/pelicanbrief