10 Best Joel Schumacher Films
7. The Client
A particularly dark entry in the Schumacher canon, The Client is a tale of political ambition run wild, mob justice, and attempted child murder. Brad Renfro got his big break in a fantastic turn as 11 year old Mark, who witnesses the suicide of a mob lawyer, which leads to the child becoming the target of local gangsters, and a possible pawn in the career goals of a U.S attorney.
The ever reliable Tommy Lee Jones (as pushy lawyer Roy Foltrigg) and Susan Sarandon (as kindly lawyer Regina Love) give The Client a major boost. This is Schumacher’s first adaptation of a John Grisham novel, and the source material has a little more focus on the intricacies of the law itself, which Schumacher, probably wisely, cuts for the more cinematic game of cat and mouse.
Renfro in particular dazzles in this film. The actor lived a brief and troubled life, and seems old before his years here, taking on troubling and complex material and rising to the task with aplomb. There’s a lot to like in this deeply cynical and pacy thriller.