← Back

The Client

“A district attorney out for a conviction. A new lawyer out of her league. A young boy who knew too much.”

1994 · 1 h 59 min
Directed by Joel Schumacher · USA · American Independent Cinema
DramaThrillerCrimeMystery

Where to watch in the United States: Free: YouTube Free · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; availability changes.

Cast

Susan Sarandon Tommy Lee Jones Brad Renfro Mary-Louise Parker Anthony LaPaglia J.T. Walsh

Credits

Written by: John Grisham

Plot

A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried.

Sinekatalog’s take

A boy who knows a deadly secret leans on a spirited lawyer while both mob and law close in. Grisham's page-turner becomes a polished, old-school legal thriller anchored by strong performances. Not surprising, but reliably gripping.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

View on Letterboxd ↗

Awards

Ratings

IMDb: 6.7 / 10 (88,006 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

If you liked this

Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.