Julia Roberts opens up about her experience of working on 'The Pelican Brief' and shares a scene with another Hollywood icon - Denzel Washington. The actor also talks about her preference for lighter thrillers like 'The Pelican Brief' over the '90s's Grisham-inspired movies.
Julia Roberts is unquestionably one of the signature icons of the big screen over the last 35 years. An infectious presence in movies and on the press tour, she is simply undeniable, and everyone has one of her projects that holds a special place in their heart.
Although she's remembered as the queen of the romantic comedy genre, Roberts tried to broaden her screen persona following her breakout, Pretty Woman. The mid-90s, between Pretty Woman and her return to rom-com supremacy with My Best Friend's Wedding, saw her tackle psychological thrillers in Sleeping With the Enemy, Gothic horror in Mary Reilly, and historical epics in Michael Collins.
This era also gave us The Pelican Brief, the John Grisham legal thriller that the actor once cited as her favorite in her rich filmography.
'The Pelican Brief' Was a Personal Favorite of Julia Roberts As a guest on Howard Stern's radio show in 1999, Julia Roberts was asked about her personal favorites within her body of work, and her answer surprised both the host and all listeners. Along with Michael Collins, the Neil Jordan biopic about the eponymous Irish revolutionary leader, played by Liam Neeson, she gave a special shout-out to The Pelican Brief, Alan Pakula's 1993 legal thriller, where she starred opposite another Hollywood icon, Denzel Washington.
She recalls coming off a fallow period in her career due to the onslaught of scripts sent her way. After two years, returning to any movie set was a privilege, but especially one with an accomplished co-star and director. Related The 50 Best Thriller Movies of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb The cream of the thriller crop.
Posts 4 By Hannah Saab In the '90s, films based on the work of author John Grisham were the Marvel Cinematic Universe of their time. A fact that seems completely foreign to moviegoing audiences today, Grisham adaptations, including The Client, The Firm, and A Time to Kill, featured giant movie stars, robust ensemble casts, and played like gangbusters at the box office, representing the halcyon days of mid-budget films made for grown-up audiences.
The Pelican Brief, following a law student, Darby Shaw , who uncovers a grave government conspiracy that puts her and others in peril, was tailor-made for the master of paranoid thrillers, Alan Pakula, director of The Parallax View and All the President's Men. Roberts' turn as the promising attorney working with a reporter, Gray Grantham , to uncover the mystery behind the assassination of Supreme Court justices, was a stark contrast to her romantic persona in Pretty Woman, but it was a crucial stepping stone in cementing her legendary career.
Julia Roberts Expanded Her Dramatic Horizons in 'The Pelican Brief' Grisham-inspired movies frequently tackle weighty subjects and depict harrowing and sinister plots by corporate and government overlords. While this is true of The Pelican Brief, this overlooked entry in the Grisham canon is the lightest on its feet, all credit to the radiant charm of Julia Roberts.
Where her other '90s against-type roles tried too hard to suppress the Julia magic, she doesn't compromise what makes her so indelible in this legal thriller. When Darby's not fending off menacing forces opposing her and upholding the sanctity of the law, she retains the actor's signature warmth in the law office.
Even after opening the Pandora's Box of this assassination conspiracy, Darby never loses her wide-eyed innocence about the law, and her plucky attitude makes her the most heroic of Grisham's protagonists, while also lending a kinship to Pakula's other determined seekers of justice — notably Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in All the President's Men. It's a shame we haven't seen Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington team up in the last 30 years, as their chemistry in The Pelican Brief should've spawned a handful of vehicles where they play off each other across all genres.
Washington is always a force of nature on his own, but Roberts sprinkles a unique flavor to his screen dynamic rarely found in his movies. They have a subdued romantic bond that may not end in a climactic kiss, but it carries the weight of this already dense narrative and lengthy runtime.
The two Oscar-winners have a symbiotic rapport on the screen, with Washington sampling Roberts' effervescence and underdog mentality, and Roberts ramping up her dramatic gravitas during the most tense sequences. Roberts could've remained complacent as a reliable presence in romantic comedies, and no one would fault her for it, as she is a natural in movies like Pretty Woman and Notting Hill. In the grand scheme of things, The Pelican Brief was a crucial moment in her career.
Without proving her dramatic chops and prestige respectability opposite Denzel Washington in a beloved text, we may never have gotten her iconic, Oscar-winning turn in the superb Erin Brockovich. Roberts, who recently thrived in the misbegotten After the Hunt, still demonstrates new traits in her acting repertoire. The Pelican Brief PG-13 Crime Documentary Drama Mystery Thriller Release Date September 17, 1993 Runtime 141 minutes Director Alan J. Pakula Powered by Expand Collapse
Julia Roberts The Pelican Brief Denzel Washington Working Together Chemistry Romantic Bond Dramatic Gravitas Effervescence Prowess In Acting Erin Brockovich
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Keely Hodgkinson and Casey O'Gorman's brief fling: Secret dates, flirty messages, and inevitable splitThe news text reveals a short-lived romantic relationship between Olympic athlete Keely Hodgkinson and Love Island star Casey O'Gorman. Both partied and enjoyed 'real sexual chemistry' before realizing their lifestyles would never align.
Read more »
Keely Hodgkinson and Casey O'Gorman's brief fling: Secret dates, flirty messages, and inevitable splitThe news text reveals a short-lived romantic relationship between Olympic athlete Keely Hodgkinson and Love Island star Casey O'Gorman. Both partied and enjoyed 'real sexual chemistry' before realizing their lifestyles would never align.
Read more »
We Are Pat Teaser Trailer Released for Upcoming Movie Exploring Julia Sweeney's Iconic CharacterWe Are Pat, a documentary film exploring the impact of Julia Sweeney's iconic character 'Pat,' has released its teaser trailer. The film, directed by Rowan Haber and co-written with Hannah Buck, will receive an Academy Award-qualifying theatrical run on May 29 in New York and will be released digitally on June 23.
Read more »
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ journey from Family Ties to The Seinfeld ChroniclesJulia Louis-Dreyfus opens up about her time on Family Ties and how it led to her iconic role as Elaine Benes on The Seinfeld Chronicles.
Read more »