The Advocate

Is Allyson Dougherty guilty or not? It's a simple question at the heart of The Advocate. But the bigger question is what will her attorney Ray Shekar do once he finds out the truth. And how far will he go to find the truth? The Advocate poses an interesting moral question: Can there be absolute justice? It answers it in a thrilling and thought provoking way.

My rating of nine comes in the context of its budget. Having seen so many of these low budget thrillers over the years, this ambitious movie stands tall. Not only is the story compelling, it looks great, with an amazing score and incredible pacing. By no means is it perfect, but one can't really compare low budget films with big budget studio fare. A really interesting part of the story here is that these are first time filmmakers with limited resources. What they produced was amazing, and I can't wait to see what they do next.

The story had potential, but that potential was knifed, shot and strangled to death almost as soon as it started, and was certainly dead by the time the credits rolled.

The acting in particular, especially by the lead, was SO bad, I could hardly stand to keep watching. It was like every word out of his mouth was being read for the first time off a cue card, after spending his entire life in over-enunciation school. It was as far from natural and believable as any dialogue I've ever heard in a movie, and kept me from being able to stay engaged in the story. With every word, I was ripped from a suspension of disbelief and slapped in the face again and again with the fact of completely contrived it was.

And that stilted dialogue doomed the script itself to coming off as completely contrived as well.

The over-enthusiastic review with all the stars just has to be by someone who was involved in this horrible production. "Bad taste" just doesn't even come close to covering it as a reason.

My advice is to skip this dog, and go see a high school play instead, which would be much more entertaining.

Okay granted, this movie will not win an academy award however, it is very entertaining!! Its a good watch on movie night at the crib. I am not sure why some people are saying is not a good movie but Don't LISTEN!!Check this one out for yourselves. The characters are polished and clear about their roles in this movie. The plot although done before doesn't bore you. You don't anticipate what's coming next. Also there is a surprise element to the way this attorney defends his clients whether they are innocent or not. So grab a friend or a date get your favorite snacks and dig in for this one. I promise you wont be disappointed!!

I've loved this genre since I was a little kid and the Advocate doesn't disappoint. First we have the moody music, which was nuanced without being cheesy. The editing was sharp. Then we have the Los Angeles locations, which is great given that most films are done in Canada with generic city settings trying to pass themselves off as Los Angeles. I find these films don't get the spirit of a city. There's thought and logic in the dialogue. I've seen the film twice with different sets of friends. After the second viewing I picked up more of the subtleties, which made it even richer. Is it a big budget film no. Does the Advocate tell a good story yes. Is it worth seeing? Most definitely. In this genre it's important not to pander to the audience. Good films make us think and don't provide summary dialogue or laugh tracks running throughout the film. They take us into their world for a few hours. And I enjoyed my time here.

I enjoyed The Advocate.

Both the femme fatale and the male lead actor delivered strong performances.

And the supporting cast (particularly the detective) was fun to watch as well.

I liked the pacing of the storyline, though I was hoping for a little more resolution at the end of the film.

All in all a good movie that kept me engaged throughout.

I'd recommend this film to anyone who appreciates Hitchcockian thrillers.