Directed by:
Brad FurmanScreenplay:
John RomanoCinematography:
Lukas EttlinComposer:
Cliff MartinezCast:
Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, Bryan Cranston (more)Plots(1)
In the gripping thriller The Lincoln Lawyer, Matthew McConaughey stars as Michael "Mick" Haller, a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter- variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and a crisis of conscience for Haller. (Lionsgate US)
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Reviews (14)
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.
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An unusually alert and sharp lawyer with an incredibly stylish and eloquent McConaughey. It terms of the script, it's rather average, but it impresses mainly with its details and excellent dialogues. It's not extremely daring or controversial, and partly because of that, it will likely fade from one's mind quickly, but the overall impression remains positive. Modernly filmed old school.
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Who would ever have thought Matthew McConaughey could act so well. Without thinking twice, I rate the role of Mick Haller as his best. Ryan Phillippe was also an excellent choice with the first role that suits him in a long time. A quality script with a successful plot. 4.5 stars. After much thought, I'm leaning towards a higher rating because the film as a whole made a good impression on me.
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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.
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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%
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