Rich Man’s Lord of War — they are both highly-stylized tales of men who struggle with morality and consequence in worlds devoid of them, but The Devil’s Advocate offers more satisfying answers.
★★★★☆
The Devil’s Advocate is the 1997 courtroom drama starring Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, and Al Pacino. Keanu Reeves plays hotshot Florida attorney Kevin Lomax who has an unblemished record both as a prosecutor and a defender. His drive to win is unmatched and unstoppable and it catches the eye of a giant New York Law Firm helmed by Al Pacino. After a simple tryout, Reeves is offered a permanent position in New York, and he and his wife, played by Charlize Theron, move to the big city.
What unfolds from there is a dark, twisting story about the struggle between morality and pride as Reeves begins his career as a criminal defense attorney. His struggles at work are mirrored (and amplified) in Theron’s struggle at adapting to life as a trophy wife. The film, like most courtroom dramas, hinges on several monologues that are all beautifully delivered by Reeves and Pacino. Theron also carries her weight with some amazing scenes of her own as her new role in life starts to take its toll on her.
I want to be very sensitive about plot details outside of the first act of this movie. But, let’s just say “shit goes down”. This movie strings together scene after scene of visually-striking imagery. Taylor Hackford (director) and Andrzej Bartkowiak (DP) do a really nice job of mixing in these images without overdoing it. They also make use of these images not just to hook the viewer but to start delving into the themes of the movie: the struggle of morals vs ethics, a critique of elitism, hubris, and sin. The imagery helps distract from my second biggest complaint that by the time the third act of this movie rolls around, the fun has all but dried up.
My biggest complaint is one I find myself having with a lot of movies: the denouement. For those not versed in french cinematic jargon, a denouement is just the stuff that takes place after the climax of the film. I think in a lot of movies, these are very important. In Die Hard, we need to see John McClane walk out of Nakatomi Plaza with his wife and finally meet Al. In Fight Club, Marla Singer finds the narrator and they hold hands while watching Tyler’s plan play out. These are very important, poignant moments for these movies. But, some movies have incredibly powerful climaxes that sum up the movies meaning so perfectly. I (in)famously hate the last 5 minutes of Birdman as I feel it doesn’t add anything to the film. The denouement of The Devil’s Advocate leaves me with the same questions about its place in the movie. If you have seen either Birdman (except you Matt, I’ve heard yours) or The Devil’s Advocate and want to defend the denouement to me feel free to leave me a comment and try and change my mind.
Even with its flaws, The Devil’s Advocate was a very interesting film that grapples with really important concepts of living in the modern world. I think it is probably the best-acted Keanu movie I have seen and everyone could always use a little more Al Pacino yelling at them. Now, I’m not going to go on another Cruiseade [Editor’s Note: please stop] in defense of Keanu, but I do believe that most stars are stars for a reason. Check out this movie today.
The Devil’s Advocate is available on Netflix
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