‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Review

Release Date: 3/18/11

Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is an eccentric and street-wise Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. His office is the back seat of his ageless Lincoln Town Car whose vanity plate “NTGUILTY” will either be perceived as a glaring paradox or Mick Haller’s mission statement. Mick’s spent a lifetime negotiating plea-bargains, defending LA scumbags and even finds himself representing the notorious Hell’s Angels. It’s clear from the start that Mick will defend damn near anyone who’s willing to pay his steep price – whether they’re innocent or not. When he lands a millionaire client who’s accused of brutally assaulting a prostitute, Mick believes he’s got a cut-and-dry case. Despite compelling evidence pointing to his client’s innocence, certain facts begin to surface that convince Mick that his client isn’t as innocent as he so valiantly professes.

Right out of the gate, The Lincoln Lawyer is as slick and fast-paced as its title character. The film opens when Mick is called to represent Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a pampered playboy who claims to have been framed for the brutal assault and attempted rape of a prostitute.  But Roulet earnestly insists it was he who was attacked. Stoically maintaining that he was framed as part of a set up, cleverly devised by the prostitute and her would-be pimp who targeted him as a lucrative civil suit pay-out – supported by a series of brutal flashbacks. Relieved that he might just have found a legitimately innocent client, Mick dutifully accepts the case and sends Frank Levin, (William H. Macy) his diligent investigator, off to dig up the exculpatory proof backing Roulet’s story.

As this deepening legal mystery progresses, it becomes overwhelmingly clear that Roulet is not just guilty of this crime, but guilty of a crime that wrongfully convicted one of Mick’s previous clients, Jesus Martinez (Michael Pena). Mick quickly realizes that not only is this case no longer cut-and-dry, but he finds himself in a moral quandary when he discovers that his underhanded client has been manipulating him every step of the way – even before Mick agreed to represent him. The catch-22 for Mick is actually two fold: Not only must he continue to represent his client – knowing full well of his guilt, but he mustn’t convey his client’s guilt to anyone without violating attorney/client confidentiality. Additionally, he must make certain that he represents his client to the utmost of his ability, staging a brilliant defense in front of the judge to ensure a “not guilty” verdict is awarded.

Notorious for taking his shirt off in almost every single movie he makes, exposing the actor’s famous six-pack, Matthew McConaughey is hardly ever recognized as a talented A-list actor. However, just when you thought he was content in slumming crappy romantic comedies and forgettable action pictures for the rest of his career, the man comes roaring back with some real acting. Whodathunk? Matthew McConaughey gives a refined Clooney-like performance (ala Michael Clayton), which automatically qualifies itself as a career best. And though his Mick Haller has glaring flaws, McConaughey portrays just enough white-knight potential.

William H. Macy’s role itself isn’t very big, but he manages to make it extremely distinctive. Bringing with it a quirky familiarity that creates a history between him and Mick that doesn’t require a lot of set-up. Maggie McPherson (Marissa Tomei) is Mick’s ex-wife and prosecutor for the DA’s office.  Overall, Tomei’s character – aside from being sexy as hell – serves very little purpose other than providing McConaughey’s character with some depth and personality…and the occasional “sleep over”. Mary Windsor (Frances Fisher) Roulet’s icy and overbearing mother collects some key scenes toward the end of the film and is very comparable to Mrs. Iselin (Angela Lansbury), the domineering mother in the original cut of The Manchurian Candidate. Some other notable players in this film include Josh Lucas as Ted Minton, Mick’s counterpart in some really good courtroom scenes, Bryan Cranston as Detective Lankford and John Leguizamo as the not-so-straight-and-narrow bail bondsman, Val Valenzuela.

As for the plastic faced Ryan Phillippe, he certainly embodies the spoiled rich kid who believes he can manipulate everything to a T. However, it’s hard for me to believe they couldn’t have found a better actor. His role definitely had some juicy scenes that a higher caliber talent might have penetrated more deeply which could have potentially affected the movie’s rating more favorably. He’s without a doubt the notable “black sheep” of this otherwise stellar ensemble.

Based on Michael Connelly’s pulpy best selling crime novel and adapted by John Romano, The Lincoln Lawyer is a fast paced pot-boiling legal drama that contains a handful of twists, but they aren’t too overdone. One of the main reasons this film works is the adaptation itself. From a novel as thick and juicy as New York strip from Ruth’s Chris, Romano manages to trim a 400+ page novel into a lean 120 page screenplay. Hard to believe that of Michael Connelly’s two dozen crime novels, many of which best selling, this is one of just two that have made their way to the big screen – second only to Clint Eastwood’s disappointing Blood Work.

“I checked the list of people I trust and your name ain’t on it.”

Stylishly directed by Brad Furman, The Lincoln Lawyer paints an impervious portrait of the Los Angeles arena without having to cutaway to cliché beach scenes with palm trees or the palaces along Mulholland Drive. Furman gives this film a washed-out retro appeal that is very effective. The low-key soundtrack and subtle cinematography – shot by DP Lukas Ettin – allow LA to be what it is, a spontaneous mess of skyscrapers comprised of dysfunctional courtrooms, stuffy back lit bars and lustrous corporate suites. Furman keeps the drama taut when it needs to be tight but also knows when to loosen the reigns.

Throughout the 1990’s, it seemed every time you turned around there was another legal drama making its way to theaters: A Few Good Men, Philadelphia, Primal Fear, A Time to Kill, A Civil Action, The Rainmaker, The Pelican Brief and The Client to name a few. By no means is this movie brilliant and it’s far from flawless. But it contains enough twists and turns to fill half a dozen movies. The set-ups multiply, bouncing from victim to victim like a deadly game of ping-pong (or like the Chinese say, “ping-pong”). The Lincoln Lawyer, lock, stock and barrel, hinges on crafty storytelling and engagingly solid acting across the board – for the most part. Hollywood may have lost the taste for this genre, but arguing against The Lincoln Lawyer would be a difficult task, even for a smooth talking shyster lawyer like Mick Haller. This legal thriller delivers on almost all counts.

“But,” the now 26 year-old MovieWiseGuys #1 utters, “he [McConaughey] does take his shirt off so it keeps the world from exploding.”

well put

IMDb: 7.5/10
Rottentomatoes: 83%
MovieWiseGuys: 7.5/10