The Pelican Brief is a 1993 legal political thriller based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film stars Julia Roberts in the role of young law student Darby Shaw and Denzel Washington as Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham. Music was composed by James Horner. This was the last film to feature Pakula as a producer and writer before his death.
Tulane University Law School student Darby Shaw Julia Roberts writes a legal brief detailing her theory on why they were killed and under whose orders, and shows it to her law professor, mentor and lover Thomas Callahan Sam Shepard. He gives a copy to his friend Gavin Verheek John Heard, a lawyer at the FBI.Callahan is killed by a car bomb Darby escapes because she would not get into the car with her drunk lover. She is attacked by an unknown assailant. Realizing that her brief was accurate, she goes into hiding and reaches out to Verheek for help. ........
Source: Wikipedia