The Advocate's Devil

"Thirty Something" star Ken Olin has certainly had a fascinating career since the series ended. He has become a very successful producer, for one thing. Acting wise, for as nice a guy as he played on the series, he has often been cast as a wife killer. In this movie, based on a novel by Alan Dershowitz, he's an attorney with a run of losses who takes what looks to be a slam-dunk case, defending a basketball star accused of rape. Along the way, it begins to look like the case isn't the winner he anticipated as inconsistencies in his client's story begin to emerge.

As his investigator girlfriend, beautiful Mariska Hargitay gives a warm and honest performance. I first saw Mariska's work when she was a kid on "Falcon Crest" and my opinion of her has never changed. She was a delight then, and she has evolved into a wonderful actress while still maintaining a charismatic presence. Holt McCallany, as the defendant, gives nothing away in an enigmatic performance and will keep you guessing.

This is a film that will definitely hold your interest. Only a lawyer could come up with a plot like this, however. I found it just a little too clever.

I don't understand why we can't watch this movie what do I have to do I've been trying to rent, buy forever somebody help me

Never having seen "The Advocate's Devil", we decided to take a chance and frankly, it paid off quite well. Thanks to director Jeff Fleckner, the film has a lot going. In fact, the crisp cinematography used in it and the excellent editing makes this a movie well worth a look.

The film is based on Alan Dershowitz's novel, a defense attorney, himself. We are presented with a situation of how a lawyer's bad judgment clouds his vision and gets a client absolved of a crime that seems, in retrospect, too obvious to even get involved in. Abe Ringel (Ken Olin) is retained by jock star Joe Campbell (Holt McCallany) when a young woman accuses him of raping her. In fact, Ringel and his team of investigators seem to have doubts about this client from the start.

Joe Campbell figures he is above the law and can do whatever he thinks he can get away with, even after a tragedy occurs, for which he is not even blamed. It's not until he decides to concentrate on Emma, Ringel's daughter, when everything comes to a head.

The film is interesting to watch because it's not the typical Movie of the Week type. The acting is good and the cast gives an excellent account under the direction of Mr. Bleckner.

"The Advocate's Devil" will not disappoint because the quick pace and credible story.

XX There Are Spoilers XX Disturbing crime/court drama based on a novel by famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz who also wrote the screenplay about rape deception and finally murder.

Known as "The White Knight" San Francisco Condors basketball star Joe Campball, Hoit McCallany, has it all: talent looks charm and money as well as thousands of star struck young women who would give their right arm to spend an evening with him. One of those lucky ladies Jennifer Dawling, Jessica Tuck, gets that wish and after having a quite and delightful dinner with Joe goes up to his hotel room to spend the night with him.

The next morning Joe is accused by Jennifer of raping and abusing her and is later indited by a grand jury to stand trial. Joe getting defense attorney Abe Ringel, Ken Olin, to defend him tells Abe that Jennifer is trying to get money out of him by dragging his name through the mud and that he's willing to take the stand to tell the truth which is that he's innocent of all the charges that she made against him.

On he stand Joe comes across so truthful and straightforward about the events that happened that evening with Jeniffer that Abe reviles her name, a possible rape victim, in public at a news conference the next day.The trial of Joe Campball is a forgone conclusion with him being found innocent,a verdict announced by a pretty and admiring young woman who's the jury forewoman, and admittedly set free. Everyone in the courtroom, with the exception of Jennifer and her lawyer, feels that justice was done but the person who you would think, next to Joe, would have felt most happy about the verdict didn't.

Abe knew that he unleashed a psycho on society who raped before he raped Jennifer and will more then likely rape again, which he did, and one of his intended victims being his, Abe's, pretty young 17 year-old daughter Emma, Gina Philips.

During the trial Abe found out that Joe is an expert computer hacker and likes to hack into court and police websites checking young ladies who claimed to have been sexually abused and then having their cases thrown out of court due to lack of evidence. Jennifer Dawling was one of those young women.

Joe had found out that these women would not be believed in a court of law, if they chose to press charges against him, because they were already proved to be lairs before so why would not a jury feel that there lying now. Which was exactly what the jury in the case that the state, through Jennifer Dawling, brought against him felt.

Free to do what he wants Joe ends up killing another young women Lisa Lister, Anne Farquhar,who he picked up and took at a local San Francisco hotel-room. Abe seeing this in the TV news, no one in the news or police knows who killed Lisa at the time,and realizes that this is Joe's Modus Operandi. The act that Joe's basketball team, the San Francisco Condors, were playing in SF at the time makes him a prime suspect in the murder.

Feeling terribly guilty for letting Joe loose on an unsuspecting public Abe tries to get him re-arrested by the police with what he knows about him. Still technically being Joe's lawyer Abe feels that he can't betray his client even though his client betrayed him.

Joe in a mad effort to get even with Abe charms his young daughter Emma, who's totally Ga-Ga about him, and takes her to a hotel room to do to her what he did to Jennifer and Lisa and ,as far as we know, dozens of other young ladies before them. With Abe and the police being helpless to stop him.

The movie " Advacate's Devil" is both shocking and engrossing at the same time and will leave it's audience jolted at whats happening on the screen. Both Ken Olin and Holt McCallany are in top form as the lawyer and criminal with McCallany stealing the movie as a chilling Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde type of person and McCallany pulls this off without the use of any makeup at all.

Saw advocate's Devil on cable in bits and pieces. due to commercial interruption when I usually change the station. but with VHS videos prices generally so low these days, tried in vain to find it for purchase, thus far.

mayhap I will record it when next I find it playing.

my rating is that it appears to be engrossing, well-written (yes, this is THE one from the Dershowitz novel) and well-played. Ken Olin plays the defense attorney. (he starred in 30-something). and therefore was immediately recognizable to me (for the other reviewer's comment)..all around, a seemingly worthwhile courtroom and beyond drama.