(I‘ve heard of working remotely, but this is just ridiculous…)
CAST: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, Frances Fisher, Margaret Levieva, John Leguizamo, Michael Pare.
DIRECTOR: Brad Furman
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and surprisingly mobile defense attorneys straight ahead…
Let me answer the burning questions on everyone’s minds right now: in his new flick (and our latest review) titled THE LINCOLN LAWYER, Matthew McConaughey doesn’t take his shirt off - not even once. Not. Once.
THUMP!
Hear that? That’s the sound of a thousand jaws hitting the floor all over the world. Sorry to disappoint you folks, but M. Con keeps his duds on in this one, and thank God, too. Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing I love more than a nice pair of pectoral muscles, but McConaughey has flashed his shit around so much that I’m starting to look at his chest and body the way titty-bar bouncers must look at the strippers they have no choice but look at 24/7: it’s all starting to blend into the scenery. Besides, the dude looks like he waxes his chest, and I’m sorry, but that’s a first-degree felony in my book.
Whatever. McConaughey plays Mick Haller, a high-powered Los Angeles attorney who is definitely not your typical high-powered Los Angeles attorney. For starters, he: (1) looks like Matthew McConaughey, (2) talks like Matthew McConaughey, and (3) gets chauffeured around in a Lincoln Town Car which doubles as his office. Look at this way: at least the view from his window is always different. Oh, and he has a love child with Assistant District Attorney Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei). Given he’s a defense attorney, I guess you could say that’s one of them awkward situations. And I’m not talking about the one that prowls the Jersey Shore.
Anyhow, Mick’s life gets thrown for a loop when he is hired to defend pretty-boy rich kid Louis Roulet (Ryan Philippe), who gets picked up by the LAPD for beating the shit out of a prostitute called Reggie Campo (Margarita Levieva) and nearly killing her. According to Louis, Reggie came on to him at the club they were at. When he snuck over to her apartment, she clubbed him over the head and set him up for assault and attempted murder. Or something. Evidently, Louis and his family think that Reggie is trying to milk him for his inheritance. Can’t blame a girl for trying, right?
Anyhow, what appears to be an open-and-shut case suddenly turns into one of those Chinese Puzzle Boxes that never fail to give me a fucking migraine. Specifically, Louis’s
“Poor Me Wuz Framed, Yo!” story begins to show more holes than your average colander. For starters, the attack on Reggie bears some strong parallels with another case that Mick tried a few years ago - one that he had to plea bargain and landed his client in jail for life instead of the death penalty.
Did Louis attack Reggie? Or did she frame him for an easy payday? Is there a connection between this case and the other one that Mick had from awhile back? If so, what is it? What is Louis really planning? Is he a serial killer? Or an innocent man wronged? What does Mick have to do to get at the truth? And what will he find when he finds it? Will Maggie and his daughter become endangered? Will Mick wish he’d just taken a vacation to the Philippines when he had a chance? Just so he could have a reason to take that shirt off and try (in vain) to impress the locals with his (sadly) waxed chest?
They can keep that shit. Give me a man-carpet any day of the week. I’ll roll ‘round and ‘round in it until I pass out…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Time and again, I’ve lamented about how movies have changed from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and even as recent as the 90’s. Back then, movies could generally get by on good old-fashioned storytelling and didn’t have to depend so much on visual razzle-dazzle. Movies like these became less and less common as the needs and wants of the PlayStation Crowd and Twitter crowd took precedence over quality filmmaking.
THE LINCOLN LAWYER is one of those movies. It’s based on the best-selling novel by Michael Connelly, so it comes with the built-in audience that studios crave these days. The interesting thing about it, though, is that it harkens back to the films of earlier decades that focused more on character and plot than the flashy gimmicks that seem to be the norm at the cineplex these days. For me, that’s as refreshing as a tall glass of iced tea on a hot summer day. Especially after having to sit through the likes of SEASON OF THE WITCH, PIRANHA, and WHEN IN ROME.
At its core, THE LINCOLN LAWYER is a straightforward legal thriller with echoes of CRIMINAL LAW (review coming later this week) and hints of GUILTY AS SIN and PRIMAL FEAR. It also thankfully gives its characters room to breathe and develop, which goes a long way in keeping our interest. Had THE LINCOLN LAWYER been more gimmick-intensive, it wouldn’t have been quite as enjoyable at it is. It’s the people at its heart who make the ride worthwhile.
I’ve never really been much of a fan of Matthew McConaughey’s. That’s not due to any failing in the acting department - he’s always been a good actor. With the exception of his appealing turns in THE WEDDING PLANNER and A TIME TO KILL, I’ve just never found him very interesting. In THE LINCOLN LAWYER, though, he scores another surprisingly compelling performance. Mainly because he refuses to turn Mick Haller into a guy who just coasts on his good looks. Instead, we get a hero who is charming and knows it, but also relies on his other faculties to get to the bottom of things - especially the thorny case before him.
As Mick Haller’s adversary, Ryan Philippe is competent - but not necessarily commanding. He doesn’t really do much with the role of Louis Roulet except project a sort of blank malice that doesn’t necessarily make him the scariest villain. Let’s just say he doesn’t come close to Edward Norton’s terrifying portrayal of a similar role in PRIMAL FEAR - which kept you guessing until the very end. There’s never really any doubt as to Roulet’s guilt or innocence, and this is largely due to Philippe’s predictable performance. A thriller is only as great as its villain, and Philippe’s bland performance kind of keeps THE LINCOLN LAWYER from rating higher.
The supporting cast fares much better, though, with the likes of Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, and Michael Pare scoring vividly in their important roles. Tomei, Fisher, and Macy, in particular, do very well and can be considered the standouts.
In the end, THE LINCOLN LAWYER is a nice throwback to the films of earlier decades that seem almost quaint because they seek to tell their stories the classical way: through character and plot, and not eye candy visuals. How quaint, indeed…
