Review of The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) by Arth J — 23 Aug 2018

Does respect its appetite..

The Lincoln Lawyer.

The Lincoln Lawyer is a character driven courtroom drama about a lawyer whose case grows less about his client and more about himself. The case in here is quite simpler and doesn't have any unnecessary twists and turns and instead justifies its reasoning with well constructed steps.

The screenplay is tight, gripping and adaptive for the viewers to easily connect since it resembles a lot with the known practicality. Having said that, it doesn't suggest in any way, that there aren't tricky and darker take on a lawyer's life, but every bit of tactic they have, is a seen-this-seen-that from such genres.

And still in its own terms with McConaughey's calm spirit, it charms away the runtime. It falls flatly on face on technical aspects like cinematography, background score and editing. The camera work is appreciative with a darker theme which may not be appealing for the audience but is palpable to its surrounding and tone.

The conversations are bang on money since they are argumentative with debates on ethics and technicality that keeps the viewers tangled in its world. Romano's adaptation might have missed the essential soul from the book but it does capture its characters aptly which is then celebrated by the cast. The director Furman has executed well enough to create the anticipated impact with a hardcore world which may not run on rules but is still fueled with ethics.

As mentioned earlier, the strength of the cast affects a lot with McConaughey at the heart of it pumping harder and faster than ever and is supported well by Tomei, Macy, Cranston and Pena, who steals the spotlight in his limited time. Nail-biting courtroom drama, finely structured script and McConaughey are the high points of the feature that makes it thoroughly entertaining.

The Lincoln Lawyer is not some game changer of its genre but does respect its appetite.