O Poder e a Lei

Agatha Christie would be proud of the five-twist ending to THE LINCOLN LAWYER. The film is clearly top-notch and street smart. It's the most efficient, solidly crafted courtroom thriller since PRIMAL FEAR and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. It has so many twists and turns that it's likely that Agatha Christie would be proud of it.

It also reignites the career of Matthew McConaughey as an actor, not just a charismatic star. He manages to be smoothly appealing despite playing a corrupt lawyer who has no scruples in defending guilty clients as long as they provide the cash flow he demands. It's only after defending RYAN PHILLIPPE from a charge of murder and rape that he realizes he does have a few scruples left. And the plot twists provided by the screenwriter John Romano from the novel by Michael Connelly, are deftly handled for maximum shock effect. Brad Furman keeps the direction tight, forceful and swift-moving.

The cast surrounding McConaughey has been selected with care and all of them offer realistic performances. Marisa Tomei is appealing as his ex-wife who knows his shortcomings but is still attracted to him, and William H. Macy delivers a solid performance as his investigator friend. Ryan Phillippe is excellent as the client whose surface appearance belies the fact that he's as street smart as his sleazy lawyer, and FRANCES FISHER is outstanding in a small but pivotal role as the young man's protective mother.

Not since the days of PRIMAL FEAR and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION has there been a more intelligent script than this one, designed to baffle and blindside the viewer in the course of unraveling some startling surprises.

By all means, highly recommended for fans of this genre.

I found this movie very enjoyable. Matthew McConaughey played a very believable and spot on performance as Mick...I think the casting decisions were great Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, etc. Did a fabulous job. The plot line was fantastic and left you on the edge of your seat, the script was enjoyable, with both serious dramatic scenes to funny lines that left the whole theatre laughing. Over all a great movie thats targeted toward an older audience 30's-60's. But I'm 13 and my mother took me and I loved it. Although I'm a teenager and most of us just like a bunch of romantic-comedies, I have a wider genre of love in movies. Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did.

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")

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.