The Client

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

1994 1h 59m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 1,453

DramaThrillerCrimeMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.

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

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Cast

Brad Renfro
Mark Sway
Susan Sarandon
Reggie Love
Tommy Lee Jones
Roy Foltrigg
Mary-Louise Parker
Dianne Sway
Anthony LaPaglia
Barry Muldano
Bradley Whitford
Thomas Fink
Will Patton
Sergeant Hardy
Anthony Edwards
Clint Von Hooser

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joel Schumacher
Writers: Akiva Goldsman, Robert Getchell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joel Schumacher, shot by Tony Pierce-Roberts. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Brown shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Brad Renfro and Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A district attorney out for a conviction. A new lawyer out of her league. A young boy who knew too much.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0109446 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joel Schumacher directs. Tony Pierce-Roberts behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Robert Brown cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

132 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Joel Schumacher, shot by Tony Pierce-Roberts. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Robert Brown shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Brad Renfro and Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A district attorney out for a conviction. A new lawyer out of her league. A young boy who knew too much.".
7IMDB entry: tt0109446 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 16 themes, including "suicide", "sibling relationship", "brother", "gangster".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tony Pierce-Roberts
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Robert Brown
Production design: Bruno Rubeo
Costume design: Ingrid Ferrin
Makeup / hair: David Forrest
Sound: Adam Jenkins
Stunt coordinator: Rick Barker
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $45,000,000
Box office: $117,615,211
Return: 261% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Client (1994)

Also by

Joel Schumacher

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-04-16
★ 6/10
Brad Renfro delivers well here as the young lad caught up in bizarre suicide/murder/gangster drama that also gives Susan Sarandon a decent kick at the ball too. He is “Mark”, who is playing with his brother near their trailer home when he encounters a would-be suicide who has plugged the exhaust into his car. He is spotted and thinks that maybe he is due for the same fate, but when the fella just blows his brains out the young “Mark” manages to escape - only to find his brother has gone into shock. Next thing, he is in the hospital and neither the clinicians nor the ever-present FBI are inclined to believe his story, especially when a missing US Senator might be involved in this mystery, too. Luckily for him, though, “Mark”recruits the services of “Reggie” (Sarandon) who makes it clear to the rather blasé agent “Roy” (Tommy Lee Jones) that her young charge is entitled to the protections of due process just like everyone else - even if she, too, reckons the lad is being just a touch judicious about the real turn of events that day. What we also learn is that the deceased was a lawyer who counted a local kingpin amongst his clients, and they too want to make sure the boy knows nothing - or certainly that he doesn’t tell anyone else one way or the other! Things soon become quite perilous for this youngster and his family and with the feds getting even more frustrated with him, who can he turn to? The story is energetically directed and moves along pretty quickly as the frying pan-to-fire scenarios accumulate, dozens of pizzas are ordered and the mortuary’s walk-in freezer finds a timely new use. The conclusion is all a bit rushed, but as a standard cat and mouse thriller, it works well enough.

Production companies