
THE LINCOLN LAWYER (REVIEW)
Rated
M - 118 mins
Matthew McConaughy, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Brian Cranston,
Josh Lucas, Melanie Molnar, Ryan Phillippe.
As a bottom-feeder
taking the high road, this rock solid legal eagle pot-boiler is all about a back
in top form, Matthew McConaughy. Based on a best-seller from author Michael Connolly,
it's an unlikely premise of a smarmy lawyer conducting business from the bucket
seat in the back of a grand lincoln town car.
McConaughy plays
Mick Haller, specialising in low lives of society or outcasts that most representation
usually avoids. His signature slick charm, sweet-talking in a southern drawl,
wheeling and dealing nature keeps him one step ahead of his more fancied colleagues.
Frequenting back alleys and unpleasant housing estates, Mick is chauffeured across
in Los Angeles from courtroom to courtroom by a former client who offers his services
in lieu of previous legal fees.
As a defence attorney who often
counts his retainers by shaking the folded envelopes slipped to him on the sly,
a new case turns out to be a little different. Louis (Ryan Phillippe), is a rich,
Beverly Hills yuppie being charged for the assault and battery of a female escort.
Mick believes he's struck legislation gold. However the case becomes increasingly
complicated as Louis insists his innocence and flatly refuses to enter any form
of plea bargain. As a torrent of shocking revelations strain the elements of justice
for Louis, this only amps up Mick to use every sanction possible to prove his
innocence.
Feisty ex wife Maggie and an 8 year old daughter
Mick barely sees causes further ripples, but the longer this case goes, an inconceivable
conscience develops for the cold hearted courtroom snake. To say anymore will
give away the unpredictable twists and cleverly plotted characterisations in this
indulgent crime drama.
Marisa Tomei as Maggie is all exhuberance,
while William H. Macy (Fargo, Wild Hogs) and 3 time Emmy award winner Bryan Cranston
(Breaking Bad) show confidence is gritty roles. But it's former Central Coast
high school exchange student, Matthew McConaughy in rare form. Proving his legal
escapades in the 1996 thriller, A Time to Kill, was no fluke, cunning and courageous,
his accelerated performance may cause whiplash. It's all about McConaughy! His
jaw-dropping scenes opposite an inexperienced prosecutor (Josh Lucas) sizzle up
the screen.
Condensing the popular novel into a two hour film
teeters on upsetting the fans, but I assure you the magic is retained.
Shane
A. Bassett