Review of The Counselor (2013) by Cameron J — 15 Feb 2014

Jeez, I think Cormac McCarthy may need a counselor, because he writes such messed up stuff that even his first original theatrical film project is being directed by Ridley Scott. Yeah, I may find Scott to be an overrated filmmaker whose efforts aren't quite as exciting as they probably should be, but hey, the man can get graphic, not unlike McCarthy. Really, allow me to retract my statement that McCarthy actually needs a counselor, because most everyone in his stories get pretty messed up, with this one being no exception, so I'm not going to fully trust any counselor, especially one played by Michael Fassbender. He's always made a good traitor, and quite frankly, he's always looked to be a little jacked up on something to me, so I can't say I'm as surprised to see him running drug trafficking as I am to see just how mediocre the reviews for this film are. It's Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Brad Pitt and other well-regarded talents in a Ridley Scott film whose script is written by a Pulizer Prize-winning thriller author, so, um, yeah, I would like to say that I'm a little bit disappointed... although I won't because I think it's good, and, again, Scott's kind of an overrated filmmaker. Hey, he's made some pretty suspenseful stuff in the past, but here, while there is plenty of compelling attributes, the biggest questions range from "Are they ever going to give us the name of the counselor?", to "Is it spelled counselor or counsel[u]l[/u]er?". I don't know, but what I do know is that this film is good, although it stands to be better, and perhaps would have been if it could settle some of its problems... I guess without a counselor.

Being so dialogue-driven and lengthy, the film spends plenty of time fleshing out many distinguished characters as it progresses, and at any rate, some ambiguity is necessary in a film of this type, but a lack of immediate development, as well as many expository segments' being kind of inconsequential, leave you unable to associate with the characters as much as you might have to if you want to get really invested through all of the characters' grime. Most every member of a sizable character roster is a dirtbag, and while the acting and writing prove to be inspired enough for you to be adequately compelled by this character study, there are too many distancing traits to the characters for your comfort, especially considering that there are just too many characters to begin with. To be so limited in momentum, this film is packed with many subplots, all of which are intriguing an reasonably diverse, sure, but still a tad messily handled, as the film gets to be too overblown to be coherent, jarring between layers until focal consistency is all-out lost. Perhaps this overblown film would feel tighter if the individual segments weren't themselves overblown, for although this script is solid enough to engage, it's still bloated with aimlessly excess material and overlong dialogue pieces that start to run together after a while. The script is simply not tight, and that should be enough to betray potential, but Cormac McCarthy's writing is still just so good that the final product could have transcended a merely rewarding point, were it not for the natural shortcomings, because even though the subject matter of this thriller is certainly meaty enough to compel consistently, the conflict is simply anchored by dialogue and aimless plotting that limit potential. Of course, what potential there is goes betrayed in certain ways, because even though there is plenty of inspiration here, especially within McCarthy's truly outstanding, if overblown script, if the filmmakers were to push just a little bit harder, the final product could have surpassed all of its undercooking, unevenness and aimlessness, and be outstanding by its own right. I really was hoping that this film would wow me on the whole when I walked into it, yet I still can't get what's getting the critics so disheartened, as the final product is still pretty rewarding, even stylistically.

Daniel Pemberton's score is very unevenly used in this, one of Ridley Scott's least music-driven efforts, yet when it does come into play, it has a formulaic, but stylishly intense flavor that ups tension, while haunting on an aesthetic level with a lovely grit, much like Dariusz Wolski's absolutely stunning cinematography, whose heavy emphasis on shadows, with subtly drab coloration, is both complimentary to the film's grimy tone, as well as one of the components to one of 2013's best visual styles. The film is not nearly as action-packed as most all of Scott's more recent features, yet it's about as technically marvelous as you're hoping it would be, featuring Scott's trademark tastes in outstanding style, in addition to Scott's trademark taste in a solid cast. To be so minimalist, this film boasts a sizable, maybe even oversized cast, from which emerges such unevenly used show-stealers as the hauntingly mysterious Brad Pitt, the sleazily charismatic Javier Bardem, the effectively seductive Cameron Diaz, and the, as the endangered beloved of a man in dangerous situations that may turn their focus on her, convincing Penélope Cruz, while primary lead Michael Fassbender carries this drama as best he can by capturing his titular "Counselor" role's captivating charisma, broken up by effective projections of the anguish that breaks the Counselor's cool as overwhelming consequences begin to rise. While acting material is limited in this thriller that is too dialogue driven to be all that dramatically momentous, onscreen talent is there and, like most other Ridley Scott films, more recurring in effectiveness than Scott's offscreen performance, which is still pretty decent, maybe even solid, with an audacious, if somewhat gratuitous attention to graphically violent imagery (The last onscreen death scene is just so very, very, very messed up, but hey, that's the point I guess) that reinforces a sense of consequence which is initially established through a thoughtfulness to scene structuring that is a little blanding when the scenes reach the point of outstaying their welcome, yet intrigues, if not tenses up when it draws upon the narrative's meat, however limited. This story, while bloated with too many subplots and layers, is too light in scale and steady in momentum to be all that juicy, but it's still conceptually intriguing, placing a fascinatingly and sometimes brutally honest look at the drug trafficking ring, and the colorful characters who drive it, that establishes a potential which you'd figure is betrayed in a lot of ways, based on the fact that I seem to be praising the film more highly than I mean to, but is actually brought to life pretty well by Cormac McCarthy's script. I've even complained about McCarthy's screenplay, which is neither meaty enough nor done enough justice behind a minimalist story to secure the film as once of the best of 2013, but, quite frankly, ranks among the best scripts of 2013, with excellent dialogue and extensively distinguished, if, in some areas, slightly undercooked characterization that, alongside a gutsy attention accuracy with the handling of this intriguing subject matter, sustain engagement value through all of the many slow spells, until biting set pieces come into play, establishing intense highlights which reflect the full potential of a thriller that is rich with natural shortcomings. Again, if they tried a little harder on this project, it would have stood out, at least as quite strong, so even when it comes down to the wire, I'm a little disappointed with this film, yet to say that this film is nearly as underwhelming as many are saying is pretty dishonest, at least to me, as there is enough inspiration on and off of screen to keep those patient enough to accept the final product for all its meanderings rewarded.

To conclude this session, underdeveloped and slightly unlikable characters and uneven focus to this near-exhaustingly overblown and somewhat conceptually narratively minimalist thriller prevent the final product from standing out, but solid score work and outstanding cinematography that make up strong style, strong acting and decent direction that anchor what meat there is to a minimalist narrative, and one of the best scripts of the year, courtesy of Cormac McCarthy, ultimately make Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" a thoroughly flawed, yet also thoroughly compelling, mostly dialogue-driven thriller.

3/5 - Good.