The Lincoln Lawyer

Director: Brad Furman
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, William H. Macy, Michael Pena, Bryan Cranston
Running Time: 119 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

For whatever reason, Matthew McConaughey really excels at playing lawyers. I know, it's crazy. I don't understand it either, but it fits him. With so many choices he's made in the past decade resulting in disaster, The Lincoln Lawyer is a welcome return to form, positioning him in the type of part that first put him on the map and signaled the arrival of a major star in 1996's A Time To Kill. That I'd have to reach back that far back to find his last successful starring performance isn't good news. He definitely got sidetracked, with many of us asking "What happened?" as he starred in a series of flops, most of them romantic comedies.  Despite having screen presence and charisma to burn, he's unfortunately spent the past several years making us wonder what we saw in him in the first place. This movie reminds us what that was and that all needed this entire time was the right vehicle that plays to his strengths. And it turns out that vehicle is a Lincoln Towncar. Getting back down to business again as an actor, he gives maybe his best performance since the '90's in a smart, twisty legal potboiler credible enough to be taken seriously, without losing any of the fun. He's a huge reason it works, but not the only one. The events that go down in this adaptation of Michael Connolly's 2005 novel seem on the surface to be ordinarily basic but this is actually one of the few recent legal thrillers to not only successfully explore the idea of attorney-client privilege, but wring it for maximum tension.

Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller (McConaughey) works out of his Lincoln representing a variety of low level criminals, most of them repeat offenders. Slick, charismatic and used to talking his way out of any jam, he lands the biggest, most high profile case of his career when wealthy Beverly Hills playboy Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillipe) is accused of the brutal beating of prostitute Regina Campo (Margarita Levieva). Backed by his overbearing real estate mogul mother (Frances Fisher), Louis swears he's being set up as Mickey and his private investigator Frank Levin (a hippie looking William H. Macy) digs into the sordid details of the case, trying to make sense of what happened that night at the victim's apartment.  Initially starting as a mystery thriller, a major development occurs within the first hour that pushes the story in another direction. It would be a stretch to call it a plot "twist," but let's just say the film doesn't end up at all being about the guilt or innocence of the accused and this isn't a whodunnit. Mickey becomes privy to some information and what he chooses to do or not do with it sets up an intriguing ethical dilemma you don't see depicted often in courtroom dramas. Becoming a pawn in his own client's game, the super slick protagonist who never had a care in the world must negotiate his way out of a legal trap that puts his obligations as an attorney on a collision course with moral responsibility.

The film's title isn't to be taken literally, as most of the action takes place in courtrooms, inside prisons and apartments where crimes are committed and evidence gathered. Mickey does work out of his Lincoln and is driven around L.A., but it's hardly as integral to the plot as the trailers and commercials implied, which is a good thing since that would make it seem like a gimmick. Instead it seems that's just the kind of guy Mickey is: A fly by night D.A. looking for his next big payday until his life and career outlook is flipped upside down by one case. Without giving too much away, John Romano's timely screenplay cleverly incorporates the idea that defense attorneys are often put into situations where they must knowingly send criminals back onto the street to protect the integrity of a sometimes questionable justice system. One of the more interesting points raised is that Mickey can live with himself knowing he helped set a guilty man free, but the idea of an innocent man spending his life behind bars, or worse, facing the death penalty, makes him sick. A lawyer always seems to operate better not knowing whether or not their client did it, or maybe just assume that they did so they can think like the prosecution. But what happens when he really does find out for sure and it isn't the answer he expected? That changes the game completely.

McConaughey is so good at adjusting to the twists and turns the story takes, going from being smooth and in-control in one minute to a frazzled, intense mess the next, specifically in the courtroom scenes where he faces off with Josh Lucas' prosecutor. It may say as much about how we perceive flashy "movie lawyers" than it does about McConaughey's talent, but the fact remains that this is a great performance in a seemingly custom-made role that takes full advantage of his natural charisma and smoothness while also giving him his biggest dramatic challenge in a while. Ryan Phillipe is downright chilling as the accused, doing his best work in years, even if delving into the details of how would probably give too much away. Macy is solid as always as the investigator while Marisa Tomei is saddled with the most uninteresting part in the film as his estranged wife. But the script is smart in how it bothers to make their relationship seem realistically uninteresting and unobtrusive to the central storyline. It doesn't feel thrown in for dramatic effect. It's also a relief to finally have a movie lawyer without a drinking problem or some other unnecessary addiction thrown just in case we didn't get the memo he has to redeem himself. Everything here is focused on the case and McConaughey's performance takes care of the rest. 

There are many ways this movie could have gone wrong but director Brad Furman sidesteps many of them in delivering the rare legal thriller that isn't dumb and kind of feels like a throwback to all those John Grisham adaptations from the 90's that managed to be fun, fast-paced but still retained a certain degree of intelligence. Most impressive is that nothing occurs in the film that can't be predicted within its opening minutes but you're still on pins and needles waiting to see how it unfolds. It provides just the right type of old school, audience pleasing entertainment value lacking in most mainstream adult dramas these days, complete with an ending that's suspenseful and ridiculous in the best possible way. Even having not read the novel from which it's based it's difficult to imagine author Michael Connolly and the book's fans could feel let down in any way with the adaptation. But maybe the biggest compliment that can be thrown toward The Lincoln Lawyer and McConaughey is when it ended I still wondered what happens to his character and actually wouldn't mind seeing a sequel.

Stop-Loss

Director: Kimberly Peirce
Starring: Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Victor Rasuk, Ciarin Hinds, Timothy Olyphant
Running Time: 112 min.
Rating: R

**1/2 (out of ****)

Okay Hollywood, I get it. The war in Iraq is bad. Bad, bad, bad. Now can you please stop making these movies? Or at least just hold off on them for about 10 or 20 years when we’ve had time to let this conflict sink in. There were times I really liked and respected what Stop-Loss was attempting to do and wanted to recommend it.

Thanks to some outstanding performances and a focus on the more human aspect of the war it manages to partially avoid the pitfalls that other sunk preachy political films released recently. But unfortunately it becomes fairly transparent after a while that this just did a better job covering its agenda up. When the best cinematic effort addressing this subject still isn’t very good shouldn’t that be telling us this isn’t an issue studios should continue to explore right now?There’s a reason no one went to see this, not even the MTV audience it was marketed toward, yet Hollywood seems oblivious and continues to shove these politically charged dramas down our throats. I’ve yet to be convinced a good film can be made of this topic, at least not yet.

It’s been nine years since writer/director Kimberley Peirce’s breakthrough film Boys Don’t Cry and she should be congratulated for waiting to tackle a subject she felt passionate about for her sophomore effort (her younger brother served in Iraq). But she failed to make me feel as passionate about it and much of her script feels like it was written with an axe to grind and little else. As result, the talented actors have to do extra work to sell ham-fisted material and rescue Peirce from her liberal soapbox protesting. Surprisingly, they almost pull it off, and the only reason anyone should see this is for the performances.
Decorated war veteran Brandon King (Ryan Phillipe) and his childhood friends Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) and Tommy Burgess (an underused Joseph Gordon-Levitt) return to their small Texas hometown after a tour of duty in Iraq and receive a hero’s welcome, parade and all. That celebration is short-lived, however, as Brandon finds out he’s been “Stop-Lossed,” a term Peirce holds a nice, long beat on to make sure we get the message. His discharge from the service has been waived and he’s ordered back over to Iraq. Justifiably Brandon is enraged and goes AWOL, taking Steve’s senselessly devoted girlfriend Michele (Abbie Cornish) with him on a road trip to Washington to state his case.

In one of the script’s more ridiculous and overtly political developments, Steve isn’t upset because Brandon and Michele ran off together but because he’s been brainwashed by the government into believing this war is right and wants to bring his friend home. I realize “brainwashed” is a strong term but that’s exactly how Peirce presents it, as if someone can’t think or form opinions for themselves after serving our country, which is almost insulting. With Brandon gone, Steve (who plans to re-enlist) can’t control the hot-tempered Tommy who’s descending into a bottomless pit of alcohol addiction and violence the second he returns home. Speaking of pits, Steve even digs himself one in the front yard because he still thinks he’s on the front lines. Subtlety isn’t Peirce’s strong point and these are caricatures that must rely only on these actors’ performances to bring them depth.
Aside from an electrifying and sometimes difficult to watch Iraq War opening, the part of this film that really clicks is the road trip with Brandon and Michele. It provides a nice break from Peirce’s patriotic proselytizing and shifts the focus to two people thrown together by a situation beyond their control. And sorry Reese, but Phillipe and Cornish do have legitimate heat onscreen together, made all the more impressive by the fact that Peirce (in a rare display of restraint) chooses not to go in that direction with their characters. Cornish surprised me here, conveying a tough vulnerability and a believable southern accent. It’s possible she could turn into an acting force down the line and not be eternally known for, you know, that other thing.

The pairing of Joseph Gordon-Levitt with a director of Peirce’s caliber should have much yielded much better results and it’s so silly the only reason it doesn’t is because he was given limited screen time. Not surprisingly, in the few scenes he is in he’s amazing and hints at a deeper anger and confusion in Tommy that's absent in Peirce’s script. I may be able to forgive her for going the way of Robert Redford, Paul Haggis and Gavin Hood before her with her flag waving fervor, but having probably the best young actor working today in your movie and pushing him off to the side is inexcusable.

Levitt was the one performer here who didn’t need even need a good script and Peirce still blew it. It almost felt like there was a nomination worthy performance that may have been left on the cutting room floor. Through no fault of his own his won’t be joining Brick and The Lookout in the JGL hall of fame, but it doesn’t really stop the winning streak either. I can’t blame him for taking the part and if anything it proves he’s still capable of shining in an underwritten, throwaway role.
Even in the film’s stronger moments, Peirce’s liberal agenda somehow seeps through. We see it in Timothy Olyphant’s Lieutenant Colonel unwisely played with as little compassion as his terrorist from Live Free or Die Hard. He’s just a puppet for George W. Bush. By now I’ve learned during these movies to look in the background on the wall and it’s inevitable I’ll see a picture of the grinning President. And sure enough, there it was. Even Brandon’s father (played by Ciaran Hinds) has to get a shot in as a dissenting voice. Out of no where he decides his son should report for this second unfair tour of duty for no other reason but for Peirce to pretend there’s a deep philosophical issue here.

Less would have been more and it’s a shame Peirce let her own passion get the better of her because the acting could have carried this through. There’s a scene with Victor Rasuk as an injured veteran that’s more powerful and moving than anything else in the picture because it seems to come from a true place and feels real. Then there’s an ending to the film that feels completely fake, like Peirce was trying to get her last licks in. She even flashes statistics about the Iraq War on screen undercutting her own efforts and message, making the whole picture feel more like a public service announcement.

In the middle of a fun summer movie season the last thing I want to do is take a trip in a time machine back to 2007, the year this film feels stuck in even though it was only released a few months ago. I think we should propose a new rule: The Iraq War and its ramifications should be off limits to any filmmaker unless they happen to be named Richard Kelly. I'm just crossing my fingers that when Bush leaves office Hollywood's desire to put out these politically tinged films will lessen considerably. If this, Rendition, Lions For Lambs, In The Valley of Elah didn’t convince Bush to send the troops home, nothing will. The best compliment I can give Stop-Loss is that of all these efforts, it’s at least the most noble.