As I mentioned on Sunday, the newest show to hit the airwaves filmed in my fair city is "The Firm". I wasn't sure what to expect and said I'd give my opinion after watching. I'm sorry it's taken so long to provide, but my other obligations (you know the job that pays the bills) has been a bit more demanding on my time this week. Before I talk about the show, let me tell you where my mind was on this show.
While working in November, I met a film/TV crew person and, as always, asked what they were working on. I've met people working on TV movies, commercials for fast food, commercials for TV competition shows and of course TV shows themselves. This guy said that it was a new show called The Firm based on the John Grisham book. I thought, "OK" and went on my day.
A couple of weeks later I was walking past a small Anglican church and saw guys unloading set pieces from trucks into the church. A few hours later were cables along the sidewalk and tech trucks parked curbside. I asked as I passed: What were they shooting? John Grisham's The Firm.
Alright, so I've happened across these guys twice in 2 weeks, but I've never heard of this show. I saw a short ad in December that told me nothing about the premise or plot, just the name. What would it be? A retelling? A similar situation faced by another lawyer in a completely different part of the US? What? I had to know, it was on my radar and now I had to watch.
So, now comes the show itself. It is the same characters from the book/Tom Cruise movie after the book/movie ends. The first part of the show is exposition showing how they got to this point, 10 years after they took down the crooked law firm and won their freedom.
The show looks to be a combination of mystery/conspiracy to be unraveled and individual legal case maneuvering. This premier started with a dramatic climax and what would normally be a cliffhanger moment. Instead, they go from that brief peek that tells you nothing into "6 weeks earlier" and their everyday lives. We get flashes of back story showing the in between, Memphis leads to Chicago, leads to witness protection, leads to 10 year gap, leads to today in the Washington DC area.
The story of this specific episode then rolls, Mitch gets a court appointed client, then is asked to take on another by a judge, Mitch accepts thrusting the other client into the shadows as we focus entirely on this 14-year-old kid who killed a classmate in the yard. This case unfolds with twists and turns that make you point back to other moments (he lied! who really lied? what really happened? huh?). Mitch is shown to be a very good lawyer as he defends his (most likely very guilty) client. But we never know the true story, just the bits and pieces so that there isn't really a "truth". Throw a shocker or two into the mix and you prove not only that Mitch is a great lawyer, but that he's got a conscience and a heart. Very cool combination I might say. This will make me want to see what he does with other clients and other obstacles.
Interwoven is the sub thread. The Firm. A small firm of 60 lawyers wants to bring in Mitch. He's been on the scene for 6 months and is making all the right waves and plays so why not bring him in to head a new criminal department in the firm? Mitch finds a way to make the deal in his way so that he gets to keep his independence and his own practice, but gains access to all the firms plethora of resources that are desperately needed to win a potentially lucrative case.
It all looks good on the surface, but we've seen the future. We know it goes wrong. The last scenes connect in the most abstract of ways, to the beginning. We now sort of know what the firm was looking for in the first place, be we still have absolutely no clue why.
Now on the location front: They are super sneaky. In this episode everything is shot in ways that I wasn't able to immediately pick up on any clues for the downtown area. I will be watching again with a closer eye now that I don't have to focus on plot. There was only one site that I was able to recognize on the first go-round. The entrance to the funeral. Limos, cars and the hearse are driven through a white lacy archway next to a church before entering the cemetery. That is the Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium. It is across the street from Riverdale Farm on Winchester Street in Cabbagetown.
Based on what I've seen of this show, I need to see more. There are some good points in this first venture out, but I need more info before I decide to take it on in full. My Thursdays nights are pretty full as it is with my own pleasure TV, none of which are filmed in Toronto (boo). Will I want to add to the full night and have a longer Friday playlist? For now I'll say yes, I'll give it a shot.
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