The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

Review: written November 2011

Positive verdict for return of courtroom drama

It's been a while since there has been a decent courtroom drama, but happily now that one has come along, it turns out to be worth the wait. Matthew MaConaughy is the titular purveyor of legal expertise, which he does, not from an office of leather topped desks and imposing shelves full of legal tomes, rather from the back seat of his Lincoln. It soon becomes clear that he is quite happy to represent anyone at all, indeed that this may even come from his conscience - his greatest fear being that he might actually have the responsibility of defending someone who is actually innocent. It's an interesting and satisfyingly explored twist on the usual moral-high-ground style lawyers we usually see in these movies. However his next case defending the rich Ryan Phillippe character, turns out to be challenging both to his sense of what he knows is right, and a challenge to his skills in out-manipulating.

All this leads to some satisfying courtroom scenes, and perhaps does not hold too many genuine surprises. Except perhaps for the biggest surprise of the movie - a remarkable return to form for Maconaughy, after years in sub-par rom-coms, his first return to the courtroom since A Time To Kill [Blu-ray][Region Free ] makes you wish he'd never left. It's satisfying to see him shun his trademark slacker / playboy role for someone more 3 dimensional and driven. He certainly holds the movie together, far outshining the lesser role given to Ryan Phillips. Which is not to say his is the only good performance, surrounded by an assortment of top notch character actors (Marisa Tomei, John Leguizamo, William Macy and others) adding a genuine atmosphere of reality and grittiness to the movie.

I liked it, and I recommend it. It loses a star for a certain level of predictability and a less than charismatic performance from Ryan Phillippe, but still gets a solid 4 stars on the basis of terrific characterisation and interesting spin on the courtroom drama formula.