I hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to watch this movie. My hesitation, in all honesty, revolved around the fact that the movie's star is Matthew McConaughey. I admit that I've had very mixed reactions to McConaughey over the years. Among those reactions has never been to be extremely impressed. Generally, they've ranged from "I can't believe he was cast in this role" to "he was OK." I'll give him credit, though. In "The Lincoln Lawyer," he's actually pretty good. He plays defence attorney Mick Haller. Mick basically runs his legal practice from the back seat of a Lincoln (thus, the title) and he makes a living off defending shady characters. He prefers that. As he says himself in the movie, his big fear is defending someone who's actually innocent, because he'd be too afraid of the consequences of losing. He ends up being hired by the family of a rich young man (Ryan Philippe) who's accused in the assault of a prostitute. In a strange twist, he comes to realize that his client is guilty, but that his client's guilt means that a former client who is now in prison for murder was actually innocent. Thus, his biggest fear raises its head. He was responsible for losing a case that sent an innocent man to prison. He finds himself torn between his responsibility as a defence attorney to give his client the best defence possible, and his desire to get his former client released. McConaughey did well with the part. He nailed the image of a slick and fast defence attorney who doesn't really care that much whether his clients are guilty or innocent - he just wants to make a buck. And yet, he's also a sympathetic character. This isn't developed too much, but he's also the father of a little girl who he obviously adores - and he's a good dad, who takes her to soccer games and generally looks out for her, even though he's no longer with her and her mom. It's a complex character with a lot of nuances, and McConaughey pulled it off.
The story starts out a little bit slow, but becomes a decent little suspense drama once the truth comes out - which is about halfway through. Once that happens there's a lot of twists and turns as Haller tries to accomplish his duel purpose: get his client acquitted but also get his former client off the hook. The supporting cast - primarily Philippe, William H. Macy as Haller's investigator, and Marisa Tomei as his ex-wife - are decent enough, but they really are a supporting cast. This is McConaughey's movie.
I did think that the movie went on a little bit too long. There were perhaps a few unnecessary twists and turns as we came to the last half hour or so. It was almost as if those who made the film couldn't quite figure out how to bring this to an end. It's based on a novel by Michael Connelly. How faithful it is to the novel I can't say. It wasn't a great movie, but I did find it enjoyable to watch. (6/10)
The story starts out a little bit slow, but becomes a decent little suspense drama once the truth comes out - which is about halfway through. Once that happens there's a lot of twists and turns as Haller tries to accomplish his duel purpose: get his client acquitted but also get his former client off the hook. The supporting cast - primarily Philippe, William H. Macy as Haller's investigator, and Marisa Tomei as his ex-wife - are decent enough, but they really are a supporting cast. This is McConaughey's movie.
I did think that the movie went on a little bit too long. There were perhaps a few unnecessary twists and turns as we came to the last half hour or so. It was almost as if those who made the film couldn't quite figure out how to bring this to an end. It's based on a novel by Michael Connelly. How faithful it is to the novel I can't say. It wasn't a great movie, but I did find it enjoyable to watch. (6/10)