The Firm: Season 1 (DVD) – Series Review
Doing the right thing isn’t always as easy as you might think, especially when you think about the possible consequences for you and your family. The Firm tells us an exciting tale about a talented lawyer who used to move from house to house because of the witness protection program he and his wife and daughter were under. Not anymore though. It’s time to face reality.
Mitchell McDeere (Josh Lucas) is a more than skilled lawyer who owns his own office together with his brother Ray (who is a private detective, played by Callum Keith Rennie) and Ray’s girlfriend Tammy (Juliette Lewis). For ten years, Mitch and his family had to undergo the witness protection program in fear of being assassinated. Apparently, Mitch was a key figure in the take-down of a corrupt law firm which had strong connections with the mob. Of course, those gangsters want payback and like that, the McDeere’s had to flee their homes several times, just to try and build up a life somewhere else. This time though, Mitch, his wife Abby (Molly Parker) and daughter Claire (Natasha Calis) have had enough of the running away and decide to stay put. At first, everything seems to be okay and Mitch takes up cases to increase the financial situation of his office but after a while, a friend of Mitch’s asks the latter to join him in a huge lawyer firm. Mitch accepts, but only on the condition that he becomes a partner instead of just another employee with nothing to say on his method of working.
So far so good. Mitch takes up several cases and that makes The Firm another series with a case-based structure. Not everyone is so keen on that but rest assured, the main storyline of the McDeere’s living in constant fear is more put on the front than the general cases. It’s not like the lawyer business is where the focus of the series lies so if you’re not very into separate storylines each episode, The Firm might still make it feel like there’s enough progress whilst filling up the gaps with case-related events.
The episodes begin and end with a jump in time which gives the viewers a bit of a taste of what’s still to come. In the beginning, those flash-forwards might be a bit confusing as getting a grip on the situation proves quite hard without really knowing who’s who but eventually, you learn how to cope with them. They are the perfect way to end an episode in a cliffhanger which makes you want to watch the next one right away. Unfortunately though, the suspense mostly ebbs away right after the first few minutes of the next episodes as the series tends to make everything a bit too dramatic. Diving in an episode expecting all hell breaking loose might not be the best approach as on multiple occasions, you’ll be severely disappointed. Still, near the season finale, things finally get really interesting. Overall, the story is decent but as just said, sometimes The Firm makes itself look a bit more action-oriented and dramatic than it really is.
The actors and actresses in The Firm are decent in general with some people dangling on the lower end of the performance ladder. Juliette Lewis for one has to play the seemingly dumb brunette who lacks severely in normal speech skills. Although the character of Tammy is probably written this way, it just feels way too hard like overkill. Sure, at first you laugh at Tammy and her rather weird behavior and lack of a sophisticated manner of speech, but eventually, rolling your eyes becomes all too easy. Some non-recurring actors/actresss also didn’t really leave an impression so that brings down the general level of performance a bit. Main actors Josh Lucas and Callum Keith Rennie on the other hand, are the perfect guys to portray their respective characters. They both fit their role perfectly (turning it the other way around would be plainly weird) and as brothers too, they show some dynamic interactions which enhances the realistic vibes you get from seeing them perform together.
The DVD box doesn’t come with any extras so don’t count on a few minutes worth of features to watch after finishing the series.
Conclusion
The Firm surprises in a positive manner as the story is certainly decent enough to give the viewer a reason to continue watching. Using flash-forwards right of the bat might confuse some viewers because they are not yet familiar with the characters but after a while, the confusion ebbs away and the plot starts to make a lot more sense. Generally speaking, the acting is of an average to good quality but Juliette Lewis’ dumb-brunette role can become quite annoying at times. Okay, we get that she needs to make the series a bit more light-hearted but the whole in-your-face method doesn’t really work out. Overall though, The Firm is certainly worth your time when you’re not expecting anything really great but you just want to watch an average action/drama series.
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