Review of The Counselor (2013) by Youropinionman — 14 Nov 2013

This is an excellent film. Were it not for the mistake of miscasting Cameron Diaz, it would be a masterpiece. Even as is, it's not far off. The main criticism I've heard is that the plot is "incoherent" or "difficult to follow".

All I can do in response is quote the film's existential center, Westray: "Are you a mental defective?" I'm not usually a fan of intellectual elitism, but I must say this film is perfectly coherent and the plot is brilliantly apparent to anyone with a fully-functioning frontal lobe.

No, the script does not spoon feed the audience, but that only makes the film even more entertaining. As I mentioned before, the film's only flaw is that Cameron Diaz is attempting to play an evil genius.

She is completely wrong for the role. I haven't seen her in a ton of films, so I don't know if she has any acting talent in any "type" of role, but I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she's very gifted at portraying "bubbly" characters who are sexually effervescent in a very playful way.

This role is not in her wheelhouse. When she stumbles over Cormac McCarthy's ingenious existential monologues one can only cringe and lament that the film did not stick the landing because of this one glaring flaw.

Her character is self-parodic because she does not have the talent to make these brilliant soliloquies seem believable. Frankly Diaz makes Malkina seem like a ditz, especially in the final monologue which with another actress, Charlize Theron maybe, would have been a home run.

This film is the best argument against the drug war that I've ever seen, and the dialogue is the best I've ever heard in any movie, period. Except when it's clumsily spit out of Cameron Diaz's mouth. The material was over her head.

The other actors, Brad Pitt especially, take the excellent dialogue and run with it.