Movie Review : The Lincoln Lawyer

Director : Brad Furman

The Lincoln Lawyer is based on Michael Connelly’s book of the same name. Matthew McConaughey plays Mick Haller the wheeling-dealing, smart lawyer who works quite a bit from the back of his Lincoln Town car (hence the name). Haller goes about defending his usual clientele – several low-life criminals, but one day hits pay-dirt. Louis Roulet (Ryan Philippe) a richie-rich kid from Beverly Hills embroiled in a nasty case involving a woman and extreme violence, wants to plead his innocence and wants Haller to defend him. Street-smart Haller smells a rat, but takes the case anyway.

If it looks fishy it usually is. And Haller finds out the hard way. What’s worse is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to extricate himself from the mess . . .

McConaughey is a good fit for this role. He naturally exudes a rascally good-natured-ness, and so, shines as sassy, smart-mouthed Haller. Because, like all good Hollywood heroes, underneath that smart-talking, gruff exterior, Haller has a heart of gold. Which he displays only to ex-wife Maggie (Marissa Tomei), his daughter, and his chauffeur. And to us (else whither the movie ?)

This film is well-made, well-paced and interesting. The story offers up a protagonist too good to resist, a smart, sassy hero in a spot of trouble with the real bad boys. In Haller, we have a likeable criminal lawyer who defends the not-so-worthy. He’s short on scruples, swaggers with a smarmy “I-can-do” confidence, and is loaded with street-smarts. But he’s a softie underneath (present wife and kid as evidence). When this intelligent alpha male gets into some serious trouble, he cannot look to anyone to bail him out; he’s all he’s got. Well, there is Maggie, who’s still a friend post-divorce, but she has to remain within the confines of the law, being a public prosecutor and all. But just as trouble come to the hero, payback is coming to the bad guys. We know. And we’re waiting for it.

William H. Macy plays Haller’s private investigator, and does a great job. Tomei is Haller’s ex-wife Maggie, a public defender, who’s apparently split-up with Haller because as she puts it, she wants to keep the scum off the streets and he keeps putting them back. Of course the film is what it is because of McConaughey’s portrayal of Haller. He is impeccable in this role, and delineates Haller’s hard-to-define character with a fine edge.

Now, legal thrillers are sort of predictable, we know there’s someone seeking justice, justice being hard to find. We also know they’ll get it, courtesy the hero/heroine. A good legal thriller is one which still gives you enough red herrings to make you sweat, within the narrow confines of said predictability. “The Lincoln Lawyer” then is one of the better legal thrillers I’ve watched. It is a twisting, turning lawyer drama, featuring court-room scenes, action and lots of personality. Fine tuned under Brad Furman’s strong direction and John Romano’s nicely paced screenplay, this one is worth the watch. Recommended.