As fans of The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Your Honor*, and Perry Mason, can attest, Paramount+ has hundreds of episodes of legal dramas available to binge-watch. But what about when you’re in the mood for a feature film set in the world of case law, courtrooms, and convictions? Let the record reflect we have those, too.
Exhibit A: The movies on our list of five great legal dramas now streaming on Paramount+.
The films range from historical drama to documentary to blockbuster thrillers starring Tom Cruise (The Firm) and Matt Damon (John Grisham’s The Rainmaker). And while we could rest our case right here, we won’t rest until you read on.
1. John Grisham’s The Rainmaker
What it’s about: This 1997 Francis Ford Coppola film is an underdog tale about a young lawyer Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) who teams up with an ambulance chaser and paralegal Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito) to fight the system in a case involving a denied health-insurance claim for a young boy with a treatable form of cancer. Claire Danes costars as a woman who Rudy helps leave her abusive husband.
Why you should watch it: You love John Grisham plots, and/or you love the inside-baseball talk (with a legal twist) that Grisham’s twisty novels deliver.
WATCH NOW: John Grisham’s Rainmaker
2.The Firm
What it’s about: Another adaptation of a John Grisham novel, this one a box-office smash from 1993, The Firm follows recent Harvard Law graduate Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) and his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) as they’re seduced by a Memphis law firm. But after accepting the job, Mitch and Abby learn that their new, picture-perfect life hides something more insidious – and it’s a race against the clock to make it out with their lives and livelihoods.
Why you should watch it: Director Sydney Pollack (Tootsie, The Way We Were) knew how to make crowdpleasers. The Firm eases you into its high-gloss world only to turn into a high-octane thriller that manages to make fax machines and aerial trams sources of nail-biting anxiety. You also get to experience scene-stealing secretary Tammy Hemphill, which earned Holly Hunter an Oscar® nomination.
WATCH NOW: The Firm
3. Amistad
What it’s about: A dramatic retelling of the landmark, but often-overshadowed U.S. Supreme Court case, United States v. The Amistad, this epic film from Steven Spielberg tells the story of a group of Mende people stolen from a free region of West Africa in the 1830s, and sold into slavery in the Americas. After they stage an uprising on the high seas, we watch as their subsequent legal challenges to establish personhood go all the way to the high court with the help of no less than former President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins, in an Oscar®-nominated performance).
Why you should watch it: The star-studded cast, which includes Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, and Stellan Skarsgård, deliver stirring performances. Amistad, released in 1997, also marks Chiwetel Ejiofor’s first feature film, as well as the breakout role for Djimon Honsou as rebellion leader Cinqué.
WATCH NOW: Amistad
4. Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court
What it’s about: This four-part documentary from 2023 highlights major U.S. Supreme Court cases through the lens of the court appointments and cases that defined the mid-20th century to today.
Why you should watch it: Renowned documentarian Dawn Porter provides context for the appointment of significant U.S. Supreme Court justices and chief justices, including the relatively new spectacle of confirmation hearings. Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court also looks at the high court’s past pragmatism, and finds neutrality itself by including subjects from across the political spectrum.
WATCH NOW: Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court* (Paramount+ Premium plan)
5. Crisis
What it’s about: In this 2021 drama, we follow three people navigating the opioid epidemic in Detroit: a university research scientist (Gary Oldman) who dares to push back against concerning trial results for a new opiate; an undercover DEA agent (Armie Hammer) who attempts to bust two major drug cartels; and, a vigilante mother (Evangeline Lilly) who seeks answers for her son’s death.
Why you should watch it: Crisis provides a comprehensive look at the different corners of the opioid epidemic, and shows us the difficulties people can face while trying to do the right thing.
WATCH NOW: Crisis* (Paramount+ Premium plan)
*Title available to Paramount+ Premium subscribers.
Availability of titles is subject to change.
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