Crime procedurals are a dime a dozen on TV land these days. The big homework assignment of one that finds its way to the silver screen is to be cinematic enough to distinguish itself from just another prime-time episode. The Lincoln Lawyer passes that test mainly due to the intricate plotting and colorful characterizations of Michael Connelly, the author of the source novel, and from the leading man wattage of Matthew McConaughey, a born charmer whose stabs at prestige and fun with fluff shouldn’t skewer the true-blue movie star he is.
The film stars McConaughey as Mick Haller, a California lawyer who specializes in representing the sleaze and low-lifes caught up in their seedy ways. Due to a DUI incident and a need to save on office fees, Haller conducts business out of the backseat of his Lincoln town car while the trusty Earl (Laurence Mason) chauffeurs him around. Haller’s chief clients appear to be bikers and drug-abusers until the day Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillipe) is brought to his attention. Roulet is the son of a wealthy family whose been accused of raping and beating a prostitute after a night of clubbing. Roulet proclaims to Haller that he’s innocent and that it’s all a set-up to extort money from him.
Haller decides to take on the case even though he suspects not everything is what it seems. An old private investigator friend (William H. Macy) reveals that Roulet’s story is full of holes. Haller’s own suspicions leads him to believe that Roulet is lying to him about something. He digs deeper only to find a large web of deceit filled with bending twists and turns. This web not only challenges Haller’s well-being but gets the people around him caught up in elaborate gambits to seek true justice.
Author Michael Connelly has become a hot property with his potboiler legal thrillers, putting him in the same stratosphere of popularity as John Grisham. If his stories are even half as appealing as The Lincoln Lawyer’s big-screen adaptation, then I can certainly see why. This story covers an ocean of compelling characters basked in the California sun, challenging the moralities of low-level players and the lack there-of within the higher class. The Lincoln Lawyer doesn’t get its kicks from big courtroom scenes, but the chess game that happens outside of the legal system, where the heroes’ economy of wacky and valuable acquaintances aids him in elaborate schemes to beat the system and deliver justice in bizarrely existential ways. It’s a testament to screenwriter John Romano (Intolerable Cruelty) that the script gives affectionate time to each of the fun characters while still giving apt attention to the carefully calculated plot, sometimes before we even realize it.
Director Brad Furman (The Take) may not have mastered expert-handling of the camera, but he knows how to make this delicious story pop and sizzle. The weakest thing about the film is the shaky-cam style most of the scenes are basked in, hopelessly stamping the film with the shooting style of gritty-television dramas. It also doesn’t help matters that flashback scenes are filmed like the ones on CSI. Television shows can be dizzying and crude, but movies should be wonderfully shrewd with the camera to create a strong sense of atmosphere and tone. Still, Furman knows enough when to let the camera sit back and regard the behavior of the characters. I’m thankful for the patient observations within this busy plot, and I also loved the soulful r & b soundtrack which helps convey how Haller is a man of the streets, something he cheerfully agrees to. And wouldn’t you know it, Furman even treats us to some good old-fashioned movie sex!
With all the different styles of movie acting out there, it seems we have a shortage nowadays in the Paul Newman department. You know, genuine leading men in the classical mold who ooze with effortless charm and charisma. The kind who seduce the audience with their abilities to smooth-talk the ladies and tough-talk the baddies. The kind who could teach a master class in how to work your way around the barroom and the bedroom. At this point in his career, Matthew McConaughey has proven to be that kind-of-actor. The Mick Haller character gives him the perfect opportunity to show off his rascally charm, likable ease, and tact intensity, and we should all be thankful for a character that allows a movie star to hit on all cylinders. Haller is a man who goes from roguish schemer to moral crusader, and sometimes these traits blend in nicely with each other. Watching McConaughey infuse such a character with his laid-back smoothness is great fun to relish. I hope this character shows up in many more movies.
In the old Studio days, big stars were given great assists by a supporting cast of invaluable character actors who stole the occasional scene or two. The Lincoln Lawyer follows that tradition by employing seasoned pros to make up the compelling characters in Haller’s life. Ryan Phillipe brings a nice ambiguity to a spoiled rich kid, William H. Macy conveys a great lived-in scrappiness as a private investigator, Michael Pena hits very intense bases as one of Haller’s wrongly-imprisoned clients, Josh Lucas wisely ditches pretentious smarminess as a prosecuting attorney, and Marisa Tomei brings such warmth and sunniness to her role as Haller’s ex-wife that you wonder why they even bothered getting a divorce in the first place. From a biker gang to sleazy rich people, Haller is surrounded by a motley gallery of characters, and these experienced actors help bring heart and dimensions to each person we see. We care about these seemingly disposable characters, even when the plot begins to make us realize that they aren’t disposable at all.
The Lincoln Lawyer arrives at the same moral musings as countless other thrillers in this genre and in the end, it can’t transcend its pulp trappings. Still, Connelly’s elaborate plotting and McConaughey’s electricity make this one more fun than most others. The Mick Haller character has appeared in two other Connelly novels I haven’t read, but judging by the enjoyment I obtained from his first big-screen outing, I hope to see Haller’s other adventures find their way to the silver screen. This lovable rascal and the craziness he gets himself involved in would help bring jolts of fun to a tired genre.
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