The Firm

The Firm (1993)

2 suggested corrections

(18 votes)

Plot hole: In Cayman, a drugged Avery passes out on the bed, fully clothed. Abby is in the kitchen, carrying the Mafia files. The bedroom is in the background, only now Avery is under the covers and undressed. He was drugged and too heavy for Abby to move and undress alone and have enough time to also transport files, copy them, and return everything to the bungalow before Avery awoke. Avery would also know he passed out atop the bed and not under the covers.

raywest

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Suggested correction: When he falls, his head is about 3 feet from the pillow, where it is later in the background. Abby would only need to drag him up the bed. Pretty easy even for someone with Abby's build. Avery's shirt is fully unbuttoned when he falls backwards onto the bed, so removing it would be very simple. Then all she needed to do was drag the cover out from under him and put it over. She could probably do all that in 2 minutes. Also, Avery wouldn't have been suspicious, only confused.

Abby could not possibly have done all that in "2 minutes." A small woman moving and undressing a 180 lb. unconscious man is not an easy task and impossible in that short amount of time. Abby had a limited time to move, copy, and return the files.

raywest

Character mistake: At the end, when Mitch tells Agent Tarrance that the government can convict the law firm on mail fraud and racketeering, he says he got the idea while he was studying for the bar exam. He actually got the idea from a client earlier in the film when the client was complaining about being over-billed and tells Mitch that every time a bill is mailed through USPS, the firm is committing mail fraud which is a federal offense, punishable by fines and prison.

raywest

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Suggested correction: This is not wholly correct. Mulholland (the client) planted the seed in Mitch's head, but Mitch realised instantly that it was a federal offense, presumably because he had studied it.

Mulholland did more than just plant the seed. He was explaining what the violation was and the consequences, which caused Mitch to remember what he’d studied.

raywest

Continuity mistake: When Tom Cruise first encounters Gene Hackman, Gene is nonchalantly leaning in a doorway with both hands in his pockets. In the next shot, Gene is holding a briefcase that wasn't there before. It's a good thing the briefcase arrived, since Gene makes mention of it immediately after. (00:17:00)

More mistakes in The Firm

McKnight: He lied about his brother.
Avery Tolar: Wouldn't you lie about having a felon in the family to get a job like this?
Bill DeVasher: He ought to be kept on a short leash.
Avery Tolar: Why? You've got nothing to be suspicious about.
Bill DeVasher: I get paid to be suspicious when I've got nothing to be suspicious about.

More quotes from The Firm

Trivia: Director Sydney Pollack provides the voice of the prison warden on the phone informing Terrance that a prison guard sent an unauthorised fax regarding Mitch's brother Ray.

More trivia for The Firm

Question: Storing incriminating mafia files in a "kitchen pantry" at the Firm's Cayman Island bungalow with nothing but a standard door and key lock (instead of a steel vault) to secure them seems risky, inept, and downright unbelievable. Is this how it happened in the book or was it changed for the movie?

raywest

Chosen answer: In the book there were indeed incriminating files stored in the firm's condos in the Cayman Islands. There were two adjoining condos, one for senior partners (where incriminating files were stored) and one for junior partners who weren't yet aware of the firm's organized crime connections.

Mobrien316

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