Review of The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) by Suresh L — 12 Jul 2012

This is a solid piece of work that will probably only appeal to a certain audience. It does exactly what it needs to do. Its heavily plot-driven, the characterization is pretty minimal across the entire film, with each main character fleshed out just enough to feel like they matter, but with some decidedly uneven writing, acting, and development.

The story centers on the titular Lincoln Lawyer, one Mickey Haller (McConaughey). His pseudonym comes from his practice of working from the back of an old Lincoln Towncar as he's driven between clients and court dates. Now, McConaughey brings some automatic charisma to the role, but this is NOT a rote reprisal of his role in "A Time to Kill," indeed, although he is once again a defense attorney representing some questionable clients, his motivations are much more opaque. Whether due to how he was written or Matt's portrayal, its hard to get a handle on what really drives Haller. He's portrayed as a family man (though divorced), a driven litigator (who takes a lot of shortcuts), and an all around happy individual (who seems somewhat tortured by his failings). Its not that these qualities are directly contradictory or, its just that none of them seem to follow a linear logic. That is, Haller is a tough-skinned negotiator one second, then he's a sobbing mess the next, with no real apparent impetus. Indeed, its hard to track if he's changed at all.

Luckily the story here is just as prevalent as Mr. McConaughey's stylings. Haller is brought in on a case of one Louis Roulet, a young heir in a substantially wealthy family. He's accused of attempted rape of a prostitute which he vehemently denies and wants to prove it. He takes to this job with verve, but soon he starts seeing connections that lead him to believe not all is as he seems. While there are twists thrown in there, but they happen fairly early one, and most of the movie plays with its cards face up. With that said, it pays to pay attention to the proceedings since little tidbits will come back around towards the end. It works pretty well as the movie weaves an interesting and compelling narrative that is at once thrilling and even somewhat disturbing. There's not a lot of subtlety but there's a lot of taught confrontations as, without spoiling anything, the stakes are continually raised and Haller has to call in a lot of favors. Surprisingly little of this action takes place in a courtroom, but there is enough legal shenanigans to justify calling this a courtroom drama.

There's not a WHOLE lot to say about the rest of the cast. This movie follows Haller around the entire time, and while Ryan Phillippe, Maria Tomei, and William H. Macy all play their parts well, they don't get much to do. The winner for most impact versus the least screentime is definitely Michael Pena as a previous client of Haller's who was sentenced to life for a crime he claims he did not commit. He gets a total of two scenes and he hits most of the emotional high points in the movie. Just know that this is Matthew's show through and through.

So while its not a bad movie by any respect, it leans very, very heavily on its writing and on McConaughey's acting, neither of which is strong enough to carry a whole movie. All in all, its not enough to make an instant classic, but it is a fine job for Matt and its a good enough story to keep the audience enthralled until the end, or close. Unless, of course, you have a predisposition against McConaughey or don't particularly enjoy courtroom drama. I mean, there are plenty of other films in that vein you could go through until you felt the need to watch this one, but there's no explicit reason NOT to watch this one, I guess.