Review of The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) by Diego T — 11 Jan 2014

After seeing Dallas Buyer's Club, I was pretty sure that Matthew McConaughey would not fail to impress in any of his recent movies (let's forget about those awful rom-coms, shall we?), and I was right. The Lincoln Lawyer, an epic courtroom drama about a lawyer who does business out of a classic Lincoln Towncar, is one of the best-scripted, most engrossing movies of 2011. It's like a modern version of My Cousin Vinnie, but with far more intrigue, a more complex main character, and better performances. But don't worry-- it's still got Marisa Tomei.

McConaughey stars as Mickey Haller, a somewhat well-off lawyer in Los Angeles who is driven around from courtroom to courtroom, kicking ass and taking names. I always love it in a movie where you know everything about the character within the first five minutes, and this is one of those films-- From the very beginning, we see McConaughey weasel his way out of representing a deadbeat client, help out a prostitute who was busted for "The Usual," and cozy up to a biker gang. This guy is like Breaking Bad's Saul Goodman, but without any morals that character might have.

Haller is then caught up in a case in which his client is accused of beating a woman and raping her. This simple plot point piles on with incredibly twisty developments that will keep you guessing until the very last scene. I haven't seen a courtroom drama this complex since... well... ever. The movie is incredibly well-crafted (despite some questionable camerawork... I hate quick-zooms), and the main character is just too badass to not like. He always feels like he's in total control. Nothing phases him, and that's a quality that very few heroes have these days in movies. Sure, you could say that he's one-dimensional, but there's nothing one-dimensional about a man who has no trouble in keeping murderers and rapists on the streets. If twisted morals like that are simplistic, well, I'd love to see what you think is complex.

Final Score for The Lincoln Lawyer: 8/10 stars. This is a great movie, but is sadly brought down a little by some cliched dialogue and the aforementioned shaky-cam. Seriously, what is it with cameramen these days? Did they all just contract Parkinson's disease or something? Why do they think that shaking a camera around in someone's face adds to the suspense? But fortunately, this easy and cheap way of heightening the stakes is unnecessary, as this movie's plot will have your adrenaline pumping no matter what. A must-see for fans of character studies.