The Devil's Advocate

1997 "The newest attorney at the world's most powerful law firm has never lost a case. But he's about to lose his soul."
7.5| 2h24m| R| en
Details

Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.

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KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
The Movie Diorama An interesting combination that evokes several themes. The problem is though, the two don't necessarily marinate well together constantly. A hot shot talented lawyer is unstoppable as he wins every case. A big cheese comes along and takes him under his wing which proves to be far more life altering than first anticipated. It's no spoiler, given the title and front cover, that this is about the power of evil. Vanity, power, lust, temptation...in fact, include all of the seven deadly sins as well. Depicting the idea that there is evil within everyone and that good does not necessarily always prevail. Our protagonist starts his new career with the best of intentions for him and his wife. He then starts to dabble into temptation and unknowingly evil creeps into his subconscious, tainting his view on love and life. Gradually becoming a marionette to a greater puppet master, which of course is perceived to be the Devil. I like the portrayal of how careers and relationships are built upon good, only for them to be maintained by evil. The narrative clearly shows this, the problem is the balance between the courtroom cases and the effects of the Devil's influence are skewed. They do not blend constantly. This becomes clear towards the end where the plot reveals a few twists. The religious connotations and subtext that follow are far too forced in a film that primarily focusses on law. Perhaps injecting the subtextual layers into the narrative more frequently would've given a better result and not such an underwhelming ending. Wasn't a huge fan of the final five minutes, hate it when films do that (you'll know what I mean if you've seen it). Surprisingly Keanu Reeves held his own against Al Pacino, and I thought Charlize Theron projected fragility really well in what is one of her earliest performances. It's a good drama, with many psychological concepts but unfortunately didn't explore the influence of evil to a greater extent.
Jitendra Kotai The film has a fantastic star cast. Keanu Reeves plays his role very well. The scene sealer however is AL Pacino. Charlize Theron looks adorable and hot. I was just having a discussion with a friend about choosing between Robert De Niro and AL Pacino and I came to a conclusion that AL Pacino makes every performance more grand. He definitely has an edge over every actor in this generation. He is a class apart.He has fantastic style and he delivers simple lines with such a punch that they become iconic moments. In every frame here he convinces you that he is Satan. He gives the role the edge it needed and his performance makes this movie supreme. The direction is impeccable. The script and dialogue are fantastic. The visuals are stunning and I am glad that they did not spoil this to make it a commercial horror movie.
Uriah43 This movie begins with a talented criminal lawyer named "Kevin Lomax" (Keanu Reeves) defending an accused child molester in a Florida courtroom. Although he becomes convinced that his client is guilty he decides to win the case in spite of it all. After he does a man from a law firm in New York appears and offers him a deal to go there and assist them in selecting a jury for a specific trial. When the jury votes to acquit he is then invited to meet the man who owns the law firm who goes by the name of "John Milton" (Al Pacino). But just as Kevin Lomax is no ordinary lawyer, John Milton is no ordinary man--and he has a deal for Kevin that is extremely tempting. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought this was an exciting movie for the most part with good performances from Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron (as "Mary Ann Lomax") and Connie Nielsen ("Christabella Andreoli"). However, there were some parts which could have used some improvement along with the ending which seemed a bit too convenient in my opinion. Additionally, there was quite a bit of profanity and nudity which some viewers might need to know beforehand as well. Even so, I enjoyed this film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.
Sager Let's find out how devil and being an attorney are linked. Story: attorney ending up to work for the devil!!! It's interesting to see how the plot started and twisted. The characters are very well written. The conflict between a hard job and family, being ambitious and dedicated to your goals and personal life. Talented Al Pacino weaving a trap to Reeves in order to take a certain decision in combination to the concept of free will. Of course, Theron's role as the attorney's wife was fascinating.Acting: Wonderful Al Pacino, very good Theron, adequate Reeves.Recommended!!!