The Lincoln Lawyer

WOW ! Reading the reviews on this movie were more about Matthew M. being cast and his supposedly poor films. People do you not recall "A Time To Kill" he was very great, "Frailty" very good, very scary. "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" Amazing. "Ed TV' great and sweet.and more where his shirt stays on. Cut it out!!!

The movie is good, it stuck to the book and did not get bent of Michael C's concept. I truly dislike when a book is made into a movie and manipulated.

As for Matthews performance, he seems a little more laid back then as in the movies mentioned above, but I do enjoy seeing him play the clever lawyer type.

I remember that there was a time, not that long ago, when I really could not stand any movie that featured Matthew M. However, slowly and steadily, the guy started picking or getting better roles and started to gain some good movies under his belt. Even his acting skills that seemed total rubbish in movies such as reign of Fire seemed to improve massively over the course of the years. Now, you could even say that if Matthew M. is acting, the movie must be at least decent. And that's exactly what The Lincoln Lawyer is. A pretty good movie that I enjoyed to watch and would even watch a second time when my fish memory has erased the contents of it from my brain. More Matthew M., more good m.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

You gotta love the suave, smart, never quite cocky performance by Matthew McConaughey as a wily defense lawyer in this slightly clever, slightly formulaic movie set in contemporary L.A. He's almost like the James Bond of the justice system, operating outside the rules but ultimately on the side of good. And himself.

The one woman in his life is a common movie cliché, unfortunately, though a useful one--an ex-lover he's still a little in love with, and they once had a child together so there is a tinge of sweetness once or twice. And this woman (played by Marisa Tomei--I never caught whether they were once married or if they were just making good on getting pregnant) works in the D.A.'s office, which is useful for a defense lawyer. The rest of the cast is straight Hollywood fare, including a couple of older men big players who are always strong if a little too dependable and a couple of younger actors who are a bit more pretty than talented. The includes especially the principle perp, Louis Roulet, played Ryan Phillippe (he was that brand new cop in "Crash") who is decent in a role that demanded amazing.

Roulet is super rich, and he's been accused of beating up a prostitute, who in turn is accused of using Roulet in some kind of scam for his cash. It's complicated from the get go, which makes the movie get your attention and hold on--you actually have to be careful not to get lost at first. The mind game/power game between the two men--McConaughey and Phillippe--is the crux of the movie, but it never gets the intensity of say a Hitchcock film (Hitch being the master of the innocent man accused, and of psychological intensity).

In fact, you might say the movie misses a beat by letting the plot center mostly on the lawyer, except for the simple fact that McConaughey is so darned good. The subplot with his child, his relationship with Tomei, and a few other small diversions don't add enough to make them worthwhile. There is, luckily, plenty of screen time with the two men together, though all the courtroom scenes might not count (Phillippe is oddly lifeless there, except for one nice overacted speech about the horror of being accused of a crime you didn't commit). And gradually a very subtle shift in guilt and motive takes place, so that what we thought was happening gets undermined.

And it's no great surprise. The one surprise at the end isn't even a surprise, quite, or if it is, it's not set up enough to really make you care. It's another cliché worked into a well made movie with a single actor shining in something close to an Oscar-winning role.

The title? And the selling point of the movie (a lawyer working out of his Lincoln)? A terrific idea that is only pertinent in small moments, most notably and ludicrously in the motorcycle gang scenes (plural) Which shows another direction the movie might have taken into farce and comedy.

But this is a congenial movie with a serious plot of crime, enjoyable all the way through, nothing more or less than that.

Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is sleazy but efficient defense lawyer that has scum clients. He has a daughter with the attorney Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei) and his car is a Lincoln driven by his loyal driver Earl (Laurence Mason). When the wealthy Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) asks Haller to defend him in a case of raping and beating the prostitute Regina Campo (Margarita Levieva), Roulet claims that he is not guilty and the woman is trying to get money from him despite the evidences against him.

Haller asks his investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy) to check Rooulet's story. Soon Haller discovers that Roulet's case is connected to an old case of his. Further, Haller can not use his findings against Roulet due to the confidentiality. When Roulet threatens Haller's family, Haller is behind the eight ball. But he is a smart guy and has an ace in the hole.

"The Lincoln Lawyer" is an entertaining thriller with many plot points and a great cast. Matthew McConaughey is excellent in the role of a sleazy and smart defense lawyer that finds that has been used by a psychopath and who has a crisis of conscience for not believing in his client. The efficient Ryan Phillippe is also great in the role of a cynical psychopath and Marisa Tomei is sweet as usual. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Poder e a Lei" (The Power and the Law")

The titular Lincoln lawyer is smooth Mick Haller who is just as smooth as Matthew McConaughey. His sleaziness is entertaining, but his lawyering is smart and intriguing. This film has pretty much the perfect mix of a smart plot, with inventive twists, amusing one-liners, and captivating thought-out characters.

Limited action and instead using characters who have an actual story, we get a film that sets itself above its competitors. A charming, but also smart and strong, Matthew McConaughey introduces us to a lawyer who has a few inner turmoils that develop along with the plot. There may be a few too many twists in the story (and with the camera), but the evolution of McConaughey's Haller is rather subtle and not cliché.

Questions of innocence versus guilt surround Louis (Ryan Phillippe) as Haller agrees to take on his case. But as the case starts to collide with incidents of the past, present and future, similar questions of guilt and innocence start plaguing Haller, his other clients, and the other lawyers. The fact that all these other characters are played by great actors only increases the entertainment value of this film. I highly recommend taking a thoughtful ride with "The Lincoln Lawyer".