- The Lincoln Lawyer
- OPENING: 03/18/2011
- STUDIO: Lionsgate
- RUN TIME: 118 min
- ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site
The Charge
Not Guilty
Opening Statement
The Lincoln Lawyer is a mixed bag; a somewhat disappointing legal thriller that fails in its attempts to offer something fresh to the genre (legal thriller?). No matter. Because Lawyer has an ace up its sleeve: Matthew McConaughey. The actor struts his stuff, returning from the abyss of romantic comedy wiser, and more confident than ever before–he alone makes The Lincoln Lawyer worth watching.
Facts of the Case
Mick Haller (McConaughey) is a defense attorney operating out of his Lincoln Town Car. A workaholic by trade, Haller takes prides in his ability to continually defy the law. When a bizarre murder case involving a young, rich tycoon (Ryan Phillippe) presents itself, however, his misconceived convictions of right and wrong are pushed to the limit. With everything on the line, Haller must race to find the truth, and attempt to clear his conscious at the same time.
The Evidence
Welcome back Matt! After a series of forgettable rom coms, the ever likable Matthew McConaughey returns to the type of picture that originally put him on the map (remember A Time to Kill circa 1996?). The actor carries himself well, gracing the screen with the charisma of a grade-A superstar, even if he doesn’t quite belong to that esteemed group. To his credit McConaughey upgrades The Lincoln Lawyer from forgettable cheese to something actually worth watching.
Don’t misread that statement. Lawyer is, in essence, junk food. You eat it, enjoy it, but then live on to experience the gassy consequences. That’s because director Brad Furman and his writer John Romano (adapting from Michael Connelly’s novel) cannot decide if they’re telling an intimate human story about a man and his conscious ala … And Justice for All (1979), or a typical John Grisham courtroom thriller replete with all of your standard plot points. You know, the ones found in “Legal Thrillers for Dummies?”
And so the plot meanders from point A to point B; the build up offers plenty of suspense, sure, but the ending drags on and on, intent on wrapping up every loose thread, dotting every last “i” no matter how bizarre the details. On paper (and perhaps in the novel) I’m sure it all sounds great, but on film the results are clunky and lackluster. Side characters–namely Marisa Tomei’s pointless ex-wife, William H. Macy’s bizarre, hippie-ish PI, and Josh Lucas’ pathetic, down-on-his luck lawyer–remain underdeveloped; plot twists (“I found his ticket!”) are ill-conceived. I suspect the DVD/Blu-ray release will feature a plentitude of deleted scenes and even, perhaps, an alternate ending that actually makes sense, but was “too shocking for audiences!” (Maybe on the DVD the villain will exclaim the line I kept waiting to hear: “And I could’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids, er, lawyers.”)
What works, however is McConaughey. The sturdy star looks every bit the youthful renegade first seen chewing up scenery in films like Amistad (1997) and Contact (1997). The man knows cool and cocky in the same way Tom Cruise knows cocky and arrogant. The Lincoln Lawyer doesn’t return McConaughey to prime time, but it does give him something akin to a Ben Affleck-ish reemergence. He never really left, but he’s never looked so distinguished.
I liked the Lincoln Town Car, even if it offers little to the plot. Like Batman parading around in his Batmobile, Haller patrols the streets looking for trash to exchange for money. Haller’s Lincoln doesn’t fire missiles, or engage in thrilling chases (ala The Green Hornet). Mostly it serves as a means to move the film outside the enclosed office spaces that typically hamper these types of flicks. Plus it makes Haller look cool.
The Lincoln Lawyer is a good movie that could have been a great one had it known where to focus its story. Haller undergoes a change of sorts, perhaps more abruptly than was needed, but never moves beyond his original state. He’s an episodic character, one meant to appear in sequels and spinoffs–we can’t have him mope for too long, can we?
Closing Statement
The Lincoln Lawyer entertains, mostly due to McConaughey’s sturdy performance, but the plot offers nothing in terms of substantial entertainment, or smarts. My advice: wait for the DVD, which should offer more than one alternate ending.
The Verdict
7/10
3 comments ↓
I finally saw it…and thoroughly enjoyed. Of course it’s not as good as the book, but I thought the filmmakers did a more than solid job adapting it for the screen. The secondary characters (the cops, the PI, the bondsman, his assistant, and even the car) do get short changed, but the plot held together well. You may be disappointed if you are looking for an alternate ending.
I don’t think Mick made much of a change either, but I’m not sure he was supposed or needed to. He was a decent guy at the beginning, and a decent guy at the end. And we liked him the whole way through.
Another thing I liked–but I bet some people didn’t–was the cinematography shot on RED; such as the shaky cam, grain, and blurred effects. Although it wasn’t set then, it had a ’70s flick feel to it, which totally worked for me.
It’s not a perfect picture, but definitely worth seeing. Then again, maybe my affinity for the book is running over onto the movie.
I liked the flick, but felt it was structured wrong. For example, the bit with him and his previous client (the one wrongly incarcerated) should have opened the film, instead of arbitrarily introducing itself midway through; that was a key part of the film, something that obviously hung over Matt’s character – simple things like that. The random confession at the end bothered me as well – it came out of nowhere. The film should have ended right after the courtroom scene; or the biker bit … that’s what I thought.
But it didn’t hang over Mick, he had done his job and what he thought was best for his client. There was no reason to see Jesus. And then we couldn’t have any of the “did he or didn’t he” doubt. Without the confession we wouldn’t know whodunit. It seems like you’d have problems with the book too, which I didn’t. Then again, maybe the structure reads better than it views.
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