John Grisham’s expansive index of books may not all revolve around the law, but the writer does credit his vast experience in the courtroom as the reason he turned to novels. “I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer. I wrote only after witnessing a trial,” Grisham stated on his website.
His law experience inspired the first book in the Grisham catalog, A Time To Kill, a devasting examination of race in America. Though it was not the first book of his to be adapted for the big screen, it is a masterclass in balancing the drama of the courtroom with societal issues that continue in the world today. The book was just a precursor to an impressive career that turned many of his most famous works into films and attracted the biggest talent of Hollywood. Grisham’s adaptations are not connected in continuity, but according to release dates, here is every movie and television series released in order.
1. The Firm (1993)
The Sydney Pollack film was the second book that John Grisham wrote, but the first to make it to screen in a big Hollywood film. Starring Tom Cruise as the young and naive Mitch McDeere, The Firm follows the murky underbelly of prestigious law firms. After passing the bar, Mitch joins a high-powered law firm in Tennessee only to realize that they are on the wrong side of the law. Helping mobsters hailing from Chicago to hide tax fraud, Mitch realizes that this is not what he signed up for. But it isn’t so easy to turn in your two weeks’ notice. Mitch learns that no one quits the titular firm. You stay or you die. There is no middle ground.
With the help of his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Mitch turns against the company that literally paid and housed him to coordinate with the FBI. The Firm turns into a full-blown thriller as Mitch tries to avoid getting killed while leaving this life behind. All’s well that ends well as Mitch and Abby make it out with their lives. But Grisham did cite to Entertainment Weekly that the changed ending wasn’t what he intended. Instead of making off with mob money to live their lives in the Caymans, the McDeere family moves humbly back to Boston where they learn their lesson about getting involved with greedy corporations. The film was an honest first stab at Grisham’s source material, but his best adaptations were still to come.
2. The Pelican Brief (1993)
Release the same year as The Firm, The Pelican Brief shows another side to the legal thriller genre, but with far higher stakes. After the assassinations of two Supreme Court Justices, humble law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts), writes the titular brief theorizing why they were killed. Darby gives her findings to her love and law professor, Callahan (Sam Shepard), who passes them along to an FBI contact. But he dies soon after in an explosion, and Darby starts to suspect her theory is correct. She joins up with investigative journalist Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) – who is the only person she can trust.
What culminates is confirmation that all of Darby’s suspicions were correct – the Justices were assassinated over oil drilling that would threaten an endangered species of pelicans. Rich oil tycoon Mattiece wants to commence drilling, and the Justices were the only ones in his way. As a legal thriller, The Pelican Brief shines with Roberts’ and Washington’s casting. Everything is wrapped up at the end as Grantham writes a story including evidence of the conspiracy. The pelicans are saved, and Darby only has to deal with the added trauma of watching her lover blow up in a car bomb. More than anything, The Pelican Brief is an exercise in idealism. After the report comes out, the oil tycoon is arrested, and the guilty go to jail. Everything turns out how it is supposed to, a concept that may seem foreign to modern viewers.
3. The Client (1994)
A who’s who of ‘90s stars, The Client utilizes its cast with some of the biggest names of the time. Earning an Acadamy Award Nomination for the film, the legal drama stars Susan Sarandon as recovering alcoholic lawyer Reggie Love who tries to protect a young boy — Mark Sway (the late Brad Renfro) — who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After witnessing the suicide of a mob lawyer, Mark becomes a target for D.A. Roy Foltrigg (Tommy Lee Jones), who becomes convinced the boy knows the location of a buried mobster. With little concern for Mark and only wanting to get his name in the press, Roy questions him without his mother’s consent, leading to a conflict between him and Reggie. But as much as Reggie wants to protect her client’s civil rights, a bigger problem arises when the mob tries to kill Mark before he can reveal where the body is.
The two sides eventually come to terms, sending Mark and his family into witness protection. The moving story of Reggie and Mark’s relationship became such a hit that a short-lived television series was greenlit after the film’s release. The Client television series aired from 1995-1996 with all major roles recast. The series lasted only 21 episodes before cancelation. The original movie, however, remains an example of a gripping thriller with a heartwrenching story at its center.
4. A Time To Kill (1996)
Recalling famous lawyers in fiction may bring images of Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird, but Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) in A Time To Kill should be remembered as one of the most impressive demonstrations of lawyers in film and television. The film explores Jake’s impossible task of defending a black man for murder in the South and the resulting philosophical quandaries.
After Carl Lee Hailey’s (Samuel L. Jackson) daughter is sexually assaulted by two white men, he takes the law into his own hands and kills them in public view. The issue isn’t if the two men are racist and guilty of the crime — which they definitively are — it is if Carl Lee can get a fair trial in Mississippi with an entirely white jury for a crime that is entirely justified. Jake faces constant obstacles with his role in the case, particularly from the Ku Klux Klan – who target his home. The violence doesn’t discourage him but further inflames his desire for justice. A Time To Kill is the legal drama at its pinnacle, especially because of its thematic relevance in American culture. But at its core, it asks the question: If it were your daughter, what would you do?
5. The Chamber (1996)
The same year that John Grisham’s magnum opus, A Time To Kill, premiered, another movie released also tackling race but with decidedly less prestige. Roger Ebert was one of many outlets that maligned the film, giving it a measly two stars. Set in the final days before unapologetic racist Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman) is set to be executed for hate crimes, his grandson, newly minted lawyer Adam (Chris O’Donnell), appeals the case. Journeying from Chicago to the South has little to do with thinking that Sam is innocent and more to do with understanding why Sam blew up the building of a Jewish attorney 30 years ago. But the more Adam becomes involved, the closer he gets to the truth that his grandfather was not alone in the crime.
The Chamber is one of Grisham’s murkier adaptations, introducing an unequivocally racist character, only to attempt to absolve them of these acts. Thankfully, Sam isn’t completely forgiven and meets his destiny of execution. As a wound in the history of Adam’s family, Sam’s death means he can hopefully move on and heal.
6. The Rainmaker (1997)
The same year that Matt Damon wowed audiences with the Academy Award-Winning film — Good Will Hunting — the young actor also found himself in impressive company while starring in The Rainmaker. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the legal drama became one of John Grisham’s more warmly regarded adaptations. This time, the film doesn’t revolve around a hot-shot lawyer who impresses courtrooms with his incomparable skill. Instead, The Rainmaker is far more subtle, focusing on Damon’s Rudy Baylor. After failing the bar exam six times, Rudy passes in Tennessee, where he comes across a family taken advantage of by an insurance company – ironically named Great Benefit.
In a story that could only exist in America, Rudy sets out to champion a young man, Donny Ray Black (Johnn Whitworth), who is dying of leukemia because his insurance company keeps denying his claims. The end of The Rainmaker has no triumphant conclusion with the underdog lawyer taking on the big insurance company. Donny Ray dies from his illness, and the insurance company goes bankrupt – therefore not liable to pay Rudy’s fee or damages to the family of the deceased. The film does, however, shine a light on the hard-working people whose ideals encourage them to keep fighting.
7. The Gingerbread Man (1998)
When The Gingerbread Man was released, it was the only movie not adapted from one of John Grisham’s novels. According to Entertainment Weekly, the source material came from an original screenplay written by Grisham and directed by Robert Altman. And just like when Stephen King directed an original story of his own in the horror film Maximum Overdrive, so too does The Gingerbread Man seem like a far cry from Grisham’s usual fare. Though the stacked cast has plenty of talent, from Oppenheimer‘s Kenneth Branagh to Robert Duvall, it lacks the subtlety of many of Grisham’s stories.
After Georgian lawyer Magruder (Branagh), embarks on a sexual relationship with waitress Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz), he quickly becomes aware of dark forces in his lover’s life. Plagued by her father — Dixon (Duvall) — who has an unhealthy obsession with her, Magruder goes the extra mile to use his influence in the legal realm to throw him in jail. The conflict at the center of the film had the potential to be interesting. Even if Magruder’s intentions are good, is he ultimately just as bad as Mallory’s father? He does anything and everything for a woman he has just met, including violating his custody agreement and breaking the law. This question is never fully answered, but there is still an element of entertainment in the film. The Gingerbread Man lacks the courtroom drama that is so prevalent in Grishman’s stories but leans into the delightful melodrama that such a film can afford.
8. A Painted House (2003)
A Painted House shies away from the usual subject matter of John Grisham’s bibliography. Instead of a gripping legal drama, the movie made for television is a quiet exploration of a humble family. CBS News reported that the story was based on Grisham’s childhood in Arkansas, and was originally published in six parts for the Oxford American magazine before being adapted as a television movie. Told through the perspective of young Luke Chandler (Logan Lerman), the period piece is a coming-of-age story about cotton farmers in the 1950s.
While exploring the difficulties of cotton farming, Luke learns life lessons about the nature of people. After working a hard harvest — and a few murders — a flood destroys the entire cotton crop. This event causes a lifestyle change for the entire family as they decide to move out of the farming business. By relocating to the city and working at a Buick plant, the family can move on from their dire straits. They have been struggling for generations in their poor circumstances and finally have a way out of it. This decision pleases Luke’s mother and provides a learning opportunity for Luke. While the genre of the story differs from Grisham’s previous works, it does have a similar ending. Grisham’s stories often preach idealism and allow characters to be able to look forward to their future. Although Luke had a difficult upbringing, his experiences allow him to become the person he is meant to be.
9. Runaway Jury (2003)
Gene Hackman returns in another John Grisham adaptation in Runaway Jury. Instead of the unrepentant racist he portrays in The Chamber, he turns his attention to the role of an alternately sordid character – Rankin Fitch. Fitch is hired as a jury consultant whose prime objective is to puppeteer a jury into being sympathetic in a case against a gun manufacturer. But while he blackmails jurors into voting the way he wants, Fitch is surprised to find that someone on the inside has a different objective. Juror Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) has teamed up with Marlee (Rachel Weisz) on the outside and plans on pushing the jury in whatever direction that pays the highest. This thriller is high stakes and points out just how corrupt the legal system is.
But what starts as a cat-and-mouse game that seems just for profit is later revealed as extremely personal. It turns out that Marlee’s sister died in a shooting, and Fitch’s role in the previous case meant that the gun manufacturer got off free. Now is Marlee’s chance to get retribution and justice for those who have been hurt by him in the past. Both she and Nicholas blackmail Fitch into retiring, using his own game of manipulation to stop his practices once and for all. While the concept on the surface is outrageous, Runaway Jury is a shining example of what makes legal thrillers so entertaining.
10. Christmas With the Kranks (2004)
Christmas With the Kranks was John Grisham’s foray into comedic writing. Based on his book, Skipping Christmas, the holiday comedy stars Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis as Luther and Nora – two parents that impulsively decide to go on a Caribbean vacation instead of celebrating Christmas. This decision begins an alarming reaction from the neighbors, who take it as a personal slight that one house in the neighborhood will go undecorated for the holiday season. Though this is plausible in a neighborhood where suburbanites have nothing better to do, that doesn’t excuse the rest of the film’s antics. When their daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) decides to come home with her fiancé for the holidays, it is a mad dash to abandon their idea of a cruise and prepare for the holiday with only days to spare.
The concept of the film makes one wonder about the logistics of this decision. Hadn’t they already paid for their cruise tickets? Couldn’t they just explain the situation to Blair? Who knows. What matters is the entire neighborhood bans together to throw the holiday celebration of a lifetime. A movie of this nature may have value as a saccharine holiday film to turn your brain off, but it also makes one long for even the melodramatic content of The Gingerbread Man. Grisham has excelled in legal dramas for a reason, and perhaps that is where he should stay.
11. The Firm TV series (2012)
The most exciting thing about the television series The Firm, is perhaps the Battlestar Galactica reunion between Tricia Helfer and Callum Keith Rennie. The two both played Cylons in the critically acclaimed sci-fi series. Other than that, the NBC series that only lasted a season pales in comparison to the property that gave it its name. The 2012 series is not a full reboot of the Tom Cruise film but a sequel. Set a decade after Mitch McDeere (Josh Lucas) put away gangsters from the Chicago mob, he — for some reason — decides to leave witness protection and return to his roots of practicing law.
Almost immediately the mob targets him, and he is in the same predicament he was 10 years prior. Once again, Mitch joins a prestigious law firm only to realize they have ties to people that want him dead. The series only lasted 22 episodes and failed to get picked up for a second season. While the show tried its best by bringing back characters from the original film, it fails to capture the high stakes of its predecessor and only succeeds in rehashing old news as a sanitized network television version.
12. The Innocent Man (2018)
The only movie in John Grisham’s repertoire that isn’t based on a fictional novel, Netflix’s The Innocent Man is based on the author’s true crime best seller of the same name. The film is a documentary that details the murders of Debbie Carter and Denise Haraway. Four men were convicted in connection to the crimes but went on to maintain their innocence. Like many characters in his previous works, the suspects in the case are part of what appears to be a larger conspiracy.
The documentary explores the likelihood that the police coerced these men’s confessions. Evidence for the case had not been properly gathered, and those arrested for the crime had come close to execution for the murders. The implication that the police furthered this false narrative is woven throughout the series, and though Grisham has only written about the events in a non-fictionalized version, that shouldn’t stop him from writing something inspired by the case. We all know what the former lawyer can do when he gets inspiration from life. If he ever writes a fiction book about these murders, we could have another A Time To Kill.
