It's heavy on dialogue but The Client has an excellent plot - a trailer park boy witnesses a terrible incident involving gangsters and, while on the run from them, chooses a struggling recovering alcoholic lawyer, a woman called Reggie Love, to represent him.
As the boy, Mark Renfro is outstanding - focused, tough but vulnerable, and funny. I was sad to learn that Renfro died of substance abuse age 25 - he was really talented. As his down and out mother, Mary-Louise Parker tries hard - it's more her character and lines that are cliched. But the real stars are Susan Sarandon as the spirited lawyer Reggie Love who gets many knocks but gets back up again. And Tommy Lee Jones, as the lead detective, is just wonderful - smart and tough and a little devious in his attempts to get information oit of the kid. Like in The Fugitive, the police are actually harassing the witness and not the culprits. In this case, the witness is a child, whose rights Reggie ferociously fights for.
Review of The Client
