The Lincoln Lawyer

The success of The Lincoln Lawyer largely lies in the casting of Matthew McConaughey in the lead role. Both in terms of his appearance and his character acting, he perfectly fits the image of a cunning and experienced lawyer who has equally good relationships in the justice system as well as in the underworld. The direction by Brad Furman is also worth mentioning, as he has shown here that when he wants to, he can make a film at a high level and with the use of modern film techniques. However, in my opinion, the script is quite average and it does not avoid clichés or improbable errors. Overall impression: 60%. (02/20/2013)

This deceptive courtroom drama, in which no one acts honestly, was based on Michael Connelly’s popular novel of the same name. The corrupt nature of most of the characters, not excepting the protagonist, does not serve the film as an object of criticism. On the contrary, The Lincoln Lawyer gently convinces us that it can’t be any other way today. What’s important is to have something on everyone and if you don’t know more than the other, you at least pretend that you do. Naturally, the outer shell ultimately gives way to an uncorrupted core, a “nice” story with a lesson about decent behaviour at the end, but I enjoy the fact that traditional values are called into question in a film about law and justice. What’s even more surprising is that I also liked how Matthew McConaughey conceived his character of yet another arrogant hotshot, which – unlike a dozen of his previous roles – actually makes sense this time. You get the feeling that he is hiding something more behind his behaviour. If he didn’t show off, he would be either a zero or pushing up daisies. This dramaturgically complete, though somewhat long, film is held up from the side by excellent actors in supporting roles (Bryan Cranston, William H. Macy). Its lack of functionality as a thriller is a problem of viewer expectations rather than a problem with the directing. It would need more unrevealed cards, more suspense and more reasons to worry about someone’s wellbeing. But I had no problem with the film as a drama. 75% (08/10/2011)

From beginning to end, an extremely suspenseful film, which shows that it was born in the head of a single good writer and not in the skulls of three or more Hollywood screenwriters. Thoughtful, surprising, interesting, great. Matthew McConaughey is quite convincing in yet another lawyer role (the top-notch Amistad, the miserable A Time to Kill), the cast of other actors and actresses is flawless, and the rich plot and brisk direction make the two hours fly by like nothing. (08/04/2012)

Ever since I was a little kid, I lived with the belief that court cases are the sort of scenes that will never get fun for me. There were moments that pleasantly surprised me, but I never expected to be blown away by a movie based on court cases. And that’s mainly because it is about a lawyer. The lawyer is portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, who was probably born for this profession, because wherever he’s appeared as a lawyer, he’s always acted it out so well that I just kept nodding at a job well done. Matt’s simply good at that. And once you run into this sort of movie about everything that would convince you that this is a five-star experience right at first glance, it’s simply worth watching, because nothing is more surprising than a movie that you didn’t expect much of yet it ends up deserving those five stars. Not only for everything I already wrote about, but also for the gorgeous and natural atmosphere and especially the ending that created a movie closure more beautiful than anything I’ve seen in a long time. The Lincoln Lawyer has a great movie soul and I admit that I’d almost forgotten what that movie soul looks like. And here it is. (04/23/2014)

A pleasant surprise and sheer pleasure from a smart film, and I'd say there have been few legal dramas of the same quality as this since Coppola's magnificent The Rainmaker. Matthew McConaughey has finally shed the jaded skin of the sunny boy on the surfboard, and after years (since his role in Schumacher's A Time to Kill) he has returned to what he does best: a passionate advocate who evokes ambivalent feelings – you want to kick him for his cockiness, but you're rooting for him at the same time. The clever script contains so many plot twists that they would be enough for three other films, and I nod my head in approval and highly recommend it. (05/31/2011)