The Lincoln Lawyer

Starring: Matthew McConaughy, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Bryan Cranston
Directed by: Brad Furman
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A defense attorney (Matthew McConaughy) represents a wealthy man (Ryan Phillippe) proclaiming his innocence in a brutal attack. As he dives into the case, he starts to believe his client may be guilty.

Review:

Tim: I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed The Lincoln Lawyer. It is a movie that defies the conventions of the genre and proves to be far more intelligent, exciting, and surprising than it first appears. Truly, on first glance, there wasn't much to get excited about. This seemed like a dramatic courtroom movie that offered nothing we haven't seen dozens of times before. However, the movie itself is very different than you might expect. I was pleasantly surprised.

The main strength is the film's story. While this is very much a courtroom movie with the elements you would expect- the search for evidence, witness stories falling apart, and the quest for justice, there are some elements I wasn't expecting. The movie offers up some pretty fascinating, memorable twists and turns. I was shocked by some of the events of the film. It was an exciting, nerve-racking story. The twists and surprises are what makes this film different than many other similar films. It reminded me a bit of Primal Fear (although that film was much better).

The cast is fairly strong, too. Matthew McConaughy has always been good at playing lawyers, and he's good again here. I didn't love his performance (I rarely do), but he was strong in the lead role and enjoyable to watch. Ryan Phillippe was very good, but in a different way. He made his character believable and really made a strong impact on the film.

The rest of the supporting cast was solid. Marisa Tomei is always a great addition to a cast, and she provides great work here. I loved William H. Macy in this film. Josh Lucas was a nice addition. John Leguizamo didn't add as much as you'd hope or expect, but he was fine. I love Michael Pena, and like most of his movies, I just wish he had more screen time.

While this movie doesn't necessarily rewrite any of the rules or give us something we've never seen before, it delivers its story in a surprisingly effective, entertaining way. It sells the twists and turns, and gives us interesting enough characters so that we have an invested interest. The Lincoln Lawyer proved to be smarter and better than I expected. This is a really good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Blood Work, A Time to Kill, Primal Fear