Pelican Brief - Behind the Brief-

1098 Words5 Pages
Some things which appear to be different can actually be the same and vice versa. The Pelican Brief is written by John Grisham and directed by Alan Pakula. The film does follow the story line quite well, but it does stray a little from it. There are elements which can be contrasted or compared. The following elements will be contrasted or compared: Gray Grantham, the anticlimax, and the resolution. First to be contrasted is the character of Gray Grantham. Gray’s appearance in the novel differs than in the film. In the novel Grantham is white. This is clearly stated in the novel, “Grantham’s was the only white face.” (Grisham 131) In this scene they are meeting Garcia; he being the only white face there created tension. It feels as if his cover is gong to blow. While he is “white in Mr. Grisham’s novel,” he is black in the film. (Maslin 2) In the film Denzel Washington plays Gray, the “brilliant black reporter.” (Maslin 2) Grantham is different not only in race but his employer is too. The newspaper that Grantham works for in the novel is The Washington Post. Being “Gray Grantham from The Washington Post,” makes him stand out as well to the readers. (Grisham 93) Darby Shaw “teams up with The Washington Post reporter because she needs help and is scared. In the film she gets this help from “Washington…,a reporter, for… the…Washington Herald.” (Howe 1) Being a white report causes slight tension in some of the scenes and working for The Washington Post sounds like he has more recognition. All the tension and events with Gray and Darby lead to an anti-climax in the novel and the film. Next the anticlimax will be compared in the novel and the film. There is no real surprise factor in the film or the book. The problems really never end Grisham focuses on constant useless argument. In one scene, after the climax should have taken place, Darby and
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