The fact that I rarely watch courtroom movies or TV shows made The Lincoln Lawyer, a tense courtroom drama based on the novel by Michael Connelly, that much more of a rewarding viewing experience. Whereas folks who have seen every lawyer/crime movie and show out there may have seen the twist ending coming a mile away, I didn't. Well, I did a little. But it still seemed very fresh and suspenseful to me since, again, I don't regularly indulge in films like this one.
But who can resist The Lincoln Lawyer's wonderful cast: Matthew McConaughey taking a much-needed breather from romantic comedies to step back into his old lawyer shoes (remember A Time to Kill? That movie is 15 years old now!) to play Mick Haller, a lawyer who works from the back of his chauffeured Lincoln town car and defends the kinds of people that others see as nothing more than scum (drug addicts, bikers, etc); Marissa Tomei as Mick's smokin' ex-wife and fellow lawyer; William H. Macy in a sweet role as the long-haired Frank Levin, Mick's PI; Ryan Phillippe as a rich, pouting pretty boy accused of raping and beating a call girl within an inch of her life. And a colorful and talented cast of supporting characters: John Leguizamo as a parole officer, Frances Fisher as Phillppe's mother, Bryan Cranston as a hard-ass detective...the list goes on and on.
The acting is top-notch and the plot is twisty enough to keep the viewer interested without descending into confusion. Mick Haller, who is used to defending so-called "low-lifes", is handed a plum case: rich kid Louis Roulet (Phillippe) is accused of assault and rape, although he claims, with tears in his eyes, that he was set up so that the woman in question could sue him for enough money to put an end to her career as a hooker. Mick believes Louis (or is at least being paid enough to believe Louis) until evidence showing that Louis baldly lied to him begins to mount. But even if Louis IS technically guilty of the crime, it's Mick's job to defend him, right? It would seem that simple...until Mick discovers that Louis might have ties to a previous case of his: one that may have landed an innocent man in prison.
When Mick becomes suspicious that Louis is not only a liar and guilty of this particular crime, but a downright psychopath, is when things really hit the fan. Mick is on to Louis and Louis is on to Mick--and so begins a game of cat-and-mouse with Mick and his family's safety at stake. There are multiple twists throughout the film, some obvious and cliched, others genuinely surprising. The suspense was enough to send shivers up my spine. The Lincoln Lawyer really is a fun, smart popcorn flick.
4 out of 5 stars
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