Lincoln Lawyer
March 21, 2011
4 stars out of 5
This is a very clever, funny, dramatic and involving film. Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe turn in first class acting performances. Director Brad Furman never drops any of the balls he has in the air, as the movie moves from humor to seriousness and back. John Romano (whose career goes all the way back to Cop Rock) has written a wondeful script. I don't know Michael Connelly's novel, upon which the film is based, but the film makes me want to read it. Tomei is McConaughey's ex, and Ryan Phillipe is an embodiment of pure evil as McConaughey's client. The film handles its exposition briskly, its plot development deftly, and its climax is both exciting and unexpected (except for the old rule about a gun you see in one scene needing to go off in another scene). Very entertaining.
This is a very clever, funny, dramatic and involving film. Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe turn in first class acting performances. Director Brad Furman never drops any of the balls he has in the air, as the movie moves from humor to seriousness and back. John Romano (whose career goes all the way back to Cop Rock) has written a wondeful script. I don't know Michael Connelly's novel, upon which the film is based, but the film makes me want to read it. Tomei is McConaughey's ex, and Ryan Phillipe is an embodiment of pure evil as McConaughey's client. The film handles its exposition briskly, its plot development deftly, and its climax is both exciting and unexpected (except for the old rule about a gun you see in one scene needing to go off in another scene). Very entertaining.