The Lincoln Lawyer (Review)

An apt description, and possible criticism, of The Lincoln Lawyer might be that it is little more than an extended television pilot. Matthew McConaughey’s character seems like he would fit right into a network television procedural, and nothing in the world around him is all that revelatory. Yet The Lincoln Lawyer is an unusually gripping courtroom thriller, thanks in no small part to its considerable cast. Most impressive of all is McConaughey in the lead, who reminds us all that he’s a pretty good actor when he’s not playing his usual empty-headed shirtless beefcake. If this were a television pilot, I’d definitely tune in for the next episode.

McConaughey’s character is named Mickey Haller, and he’s a defense attorney who operates exclusively out of his car, which is a Lincoln, hence the title. He’s got quite the impressive track record, and his penchant for keeping the scum of Los Angeles on the streets has earned him quite a bit of respect amongst the local criminals. Unfortunately, most prosecutors aren’t so fond of Mickey. One day, local rich boy Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) is arrested for attempting to kill a prostitute. This is Mickey’s new client, and it is his job to keep him out of jail. As the film goes on, various truths are discovered which make the trial a bit more interesting.

The Lincoln Lawyer is as straightforward as storytelling gets. It’s little more than a series of events that play out in chronological order with little or no subtext. It’s adapted from a novel by Michael Connelly, and as the film goes on there’s a definite feeling that pages are being turned. I have not read Connelly’s book, but I’d imagine The Lincoln Lawyer is a pretty faithful adaptation. At least it feels that way; almost to a fault. It’s okay for a book to ramble on a bit past the climax in order to tie things up. As far as films are concerned, I’m of the opinion that the earlier you cut and run the better, as it’s better to leave the audience wanting than to overstay your welcome. The Lincoln Lawyer hangs around about 15 minutes longer than it should.

That’s a shame, because before it insists on ending five different times, The Lincoln Lawyer is one of the year’s more captivating films. (So far, mind you.) No one in their right mind would describe this as a masterpiece, but it’s the kind of competent thriller we don’t get enough of these days. The fact that The Lincoln Lawyer is getting such praise from critics and audiences may say something about the poor state of mainstream cinema. This probably should be the average, but since we get so many bad, derivative movies these days something like this seems much better than it probably is.

Most of The Lincoln Lawyer’s success comes from the fact that the cast is freaking ridiculous. Besides McConaughey’s good lead performance, the supporting players include Marisa Tomei as his ex-wife, the underrated Josh Lucas as a prosecutor, William H. Macy as an investigator, Bryan Cranston as an antagonistic detective, Michael Peña as a San Quentin inmate, and John Leguizamo as himself. (I kid.)

The film was directed by Brad Furman, who has only directed one film before (The Take). His work here is nothing spectacular, but it certainly doesn’t mess anything up. The Lincoln Lawyer never becomes more than a diversion, but it’s an engrossing one nonetheless. It’s good to see McConaughey take a break from the middling romantic comedies for something like this, and I think we can all agree that this is the path he should continue down in the future. It’s questionable whether he will heed that advice, but for now The Lincoln Lawyer can rightfully be seen as the promising sign that it is.

Rating:  (out of 4)