Directed by:
Taylor HackfordCinematography:
Andrzej BartkowiakComposer:
James Newton HowardCast:
Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones, Judith Ivey, Connie Nielsen, Craig T. Nelson, Tamara Tunie, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Debra Monk (more)VOD (3)
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Kevin Lomax, a top-notch Florida lawyer who specializes in jury selection, is summoned to New York City by the enigmatic owner of a huge law firm. After accepting a position at Milton, Chadwick, Waters, Kevin and his wife Mary Ann head for the Big Apple and a luxurious lifestyle. Lomax soon meets John Milton, the founding partner of the firm with worldwide financial and political interests. Winning soon becomes an obsession for Kevin. However, Mary Ann begins telling him that the other partners' wives are not what they appear, that she's having frightening experiences she cannot explain. When Eddie Barzoon, the firm's managing partner, dies a sudden, horrible death, Mary Ann's terrified perceptions pull her away from sanity. And through it all, John Milton keeps reminding his protege that life is rich with possibilities for those who are unafraid to sample them. But Lomax is stepping into Hell. And standing at the gates to welcome him is John Milton. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
This film has four big assets: Al Pacino, whose portrayal of the Devil is unique, Charlize Theron, who’s even better as a woman falling into madness, great music by James Newton Howard, and an interesting and novel plot. Keanu Reeves does his best, but he's no match for the first two. Excellent thriller.
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Who would have believed after the slightly tired intro that I would be so enthusiastic at the end? After each viewing, I look forward to watching it again, already expecting that the beginning will seem better in the context of the rest of the story. It starts off so innocent, but that's when the biggest surprise comes, when the story starts to pick up pace and the atmosphere thickens to the point where you're anticipating a jump scare with every shot. It's no wonder, director Taylor Hackford knows how to create very disturbing moments (a brilliant and dark sexual scene) and inserts contrasting mysterious visual and audio snippets into innocent moments. However, it is difficult to judge how successful it would have been without the actors. Keanu Reeves, in fact, delivers the best performance of his career and thanks to this film, Al Pacino has definitively become an incomparable acting chameleon.
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The bland greasy mythology, which at times literally detonates due to the director giving too much weight to the reality of the surrounding world, clashes here with solid performances and the typically sterile generic script, whose writers follow the mantra “we don't know where when how - as long as we have Al.” Pacino is a typically cocky dude with an amazing array of expressions, smirks, and poses that you can't help but fall in love with, even though he plays the literal king of villains. It's a shame that Hackford is just a plain craftsman who can't bring the necessary drive and fierceness to any movie about anything. The Devil himself would certainly need that at times.
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After seeing this movie for the second time 18 years after the premiere at the cinema, I’m raising my rating to a full five stars. It’s incredible that such scripts were written for genre entertainment in the 1990s! And those actors! And the set designs, whether interiors or in the city of New York! What’s up with Hollywood today?!
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Watching it, I never would have guessed that Devil's Advocate went through five years of pre-production hell and that the filming was beset with difficulties and delays. Because everything about it feels like a totally coherent original vision that was fun for everyone to work on, from the actors and camera work to the sets and music. After all, even dead wood like Keanu Reeves gives a decent performance here. The best part is how the main story is propelled through interesting and intense subplots, and when the film opens with a close-up of the confused face of an underage witness, no one thinks that two hours later the main character will be shooting himself in the head surrounded by flames and black candles. Given the way the film slowly doles out information and odd situations, I would give anything to see it for the first time with no knowledge of what's behind it all. This is how genre movies were made in 1997, kids. Years later, I was quite taken aback by Al Pacino's prescient monologue about billions of Eddie Barzoons entering the new millennium. Tony Gilroy writes, others cry.
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