The Devil's Advocate (1997)

good back-story, and good acting

A Masterpiece!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The Devil's Advocate is a good movie with a well developed plot and a very talented cast. The three stars, Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron are all spectacular in their role, shining seperately in different scenes and each overcoming very complicated arcs that they made look easy. The plot itself is immensely thrilling and will keep you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end in trying to figure out what exactly is going on. I did, however, find that the film was overly ambitious in the many themes and elements it was trying to explore. Once we get deep in to the plot, it starts to feel overstuffed, trying to do too many things at once and falling flat in many areas as a result, wheras it would have been far more appealing had it focused on less, giving certain themes more attention, and thus making them richer. The film is also far longer than it needs to be, this type of movie should not be any longer than two hours. I felt myself wanting it to end, and not because of a lack of intrigue or that I was bored, but because it was simply milking what it was trying to do for so long that it became increasingly less effective. Truly unique. While it is certainly flawed, we can look past this when watching The Devil's Advocate and appreciate what it does right, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery. A lawyer based in Florida is given a massive opportunity to work for a firm in New York, but there's a catch. Best Performance: Al Pacino

Why this movie was never widely appreciated is quite a mystery to me. Must be just ahead of its time. It never got on my radar I had a chance to see it on a rare slow evening ....and it is a stunning, rare experience. If you have not seen it --ignore all the negative reviews--just get ready for a fantastic ride. It is not what you expect but no short-cut in story telling is taken. It is a thinking man's thriller, with an exceptional cast. This movie would not be same without Keanu, Theron, and Pacino. The acting is first-rate and they sell you the story the old-fashioned way. A thrilling ride that pick's up pace and reaches a logical but slightly drawn out conclusion....It is a long movie but it allows for complex theme of evil and how it manipulates the gullible is developed .,...but gullible (s) are not just plain and passive people---they have a complex psyche and their own strengths and reasons. All comes together spectacularly.The movie is also great visually but it never overwhelms you with dominating special effects. I hope some day the smart folks in Hollywood realize (or develops more faith)--- that the biggest special effect of all is the face, tone, and mannerism of an actor..yes it is called ACTING...so mesmerizing that it make you forget the celluloid screen and you believe and get invested in the character completely. This is why Casablanca can still give you a bittersweet feeling even more than five decades later and any product from (Master) Ingmar Bergman makes thinking during the movie easy and so pleasurable.

"Can you imagine a world without lawyers?" The mere thought of happy people from all over the world dancing hand-in-hand in circle around a beautiful rainbow sent an immediate shiver down Lionel Hutz' spine. This classic moment from "The Simpsons" pretty much sums up the connection people make between lawyers and evil. How can there be anyone making loads of money from a job that basically consists on raising doubt over the guilt of child molesters or war criminals? Of course, lawyers are the reincarnations of the devil! There's an ethical bunch that defends the widow and the orphan but Taylor Hackford makes no secret that his devil's advocate is no Atticus Finch.And Kevin Lomax, played by an underrated Keanu Reeves, is a hot-shot with as much ethics as Lionel Hutz. A young girl is just testifying against her teacher, Lomax sees his own client caressing his crotch, there's no doubt in his mind that the man is filth, his conscience is shaken so he asks to go to the bathroom, but when he comes back, you understand that it was just a moment of weakness, not realization. He knows exactly how to handle the situation and through a habile cross-examination, he gets the pedophile acquitted. Yet, we never really deem Lomax as a bad man, there's something about this young go-getter that doesn't fuse villainous vibes or the conviction that his cockiness will backfire at him, and that's integral to the film's appreciation. If we believed at the spot that he was the bad guy, the Faustian pact wouldn't have any dramatic weight.The film set him up as a Florida prodigy who never lost a case, his secret is a sixth sense that allows him to pick the right jury for the job, which is impressive enough to raise itself beyond 'evil' stereotyping. As for his background, he's a man who grew up without any father-figure (which excuses his cynicism), raised by a mother (Judith Ivey) whose devotion to religion feels more like overcompensation than bigotry, and married to a lively and beautiful girlfriend remarkably played by Charlize Theron. His last victory earns him a contract in a prestigious lawyer's cabinet in New York, he demonstrates his jury-picking skills and manages to win an unsolvable case, and in the process a high firm position in the cabinet. The film tells the wags-to-riches story with such gusto and an amazing attention to details highlighting wealth and power than we kind of enjoy it without really waiting for any supernatural elements. As a matter of fact, the title is a bit of a give-away.Indeed, is it spoiling the film to say that Al Pacino is the Devil? A simple look at the poster and a game of elimination will get you to the conclusion. And when John Milton, the CEO, makes his entrance, shakes hands with Lomax and takes him to the top of the building, where a sort of pool has been designed so that it looks like the edge of Niagara falls, we get an eloquent metaphor for Lomax' situation, like walking on a tightrope, with a man who can either take him to the summit or cause his downfall. Hackford's film is visually eloquent and creates such intriguing build-ups that the early jump scares are efficient. But as powerful as they are, a few of them aren't anticipated, and the film ventures in a territory we identify as familiar since we know the title and the main theme. It's not like Alan Parker's "Angel Heart" which starts like a film-noir before descending into horror.But there's a certain delight within the anticipation of the thrills to come and to see poor Lomax' always only one step behind his wife until it hits him in the face. The escalation toward more and more disturbing revelations culminates with one of these moments where you realize that none other than Al Pacino can make the devil look so flashy and entertaining. De Niro was a creepy devil, but Pacino's angle is perfect for the film, he's a man who goes over the top, histrionic since that's a skill required for his job. That's the trick lawyers use and the essence of the devil, it doesn't guide you much as it whispers in your head all you need to make the wrong moves by yourself, it's all in pretending, in masking emotions and guiding the others through the desired reactions. It's all about spotting the Achille's heel and in Lomax' case, by his own admission, his ego is his biggest weakness, Vanity is his sin and for a puppeteer like Milton, it's the easiest string to pull.This revelation, while not a twist, reveals why we gave him the benefit of the doubt by pinpointing his real sin, through a flamboyant and operatic showdown between Lomax and Pacino who got (of course) the best lines and a few fiery tirades, to which Reeves reacts perfectly as the straight-man. While not reinventing the codes or providing anything in the same vein than "Rosemary's baby" or "The Exorcist", "The Devil's Advocate" is less interested in providing horror thrills than revealing the depths of human propensity to endorse horror, and all in flash, a few substance, and some jump scares worthy of the best thriller.

"The Devil's Advocate" is a strange motion picture. In some ways, it is a complete and utter mess. Yet, it touches on such interesting themes and contains such great acting that it is tough to rank it as anywhere near "bad".For a basic plot summary, "Devil's Advocate" sees hotshot lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) move from his small southern practice to the "big time" in New York with wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron). Employed by the mysterious John Milton (Al Pacino), Kevin begins to realize that his "dream job" may be a bit more complicated (and ultimately cosmic) than he could have possibly imagined.In terms of acting, this film is top-notch through and through. Al Pacino was born to play the nefarious Milton, Reeves gives a solid performance as the conflicted lawyer, and Theron is startling as the mentally-slipping (or is she?) wife. For fans specifically of Pacino watching this film to see one of his "rants", you will not be disappointed, either.The conflicting part of the movie, however, lies in its multitude of themes. Such topics as "God vs. Devil", "Innocence vs. Guilt", "Small-Town vs. Big City", "Ethics vs. Greed", and "Husband vs. Wife" are touched upon. Each theme in and of itself is extremely interesting and could carry the film without the others, but the problem is that they all smooshed together for two and a half hours. Just when you think the movie is about one thing...BAM, it switches to something else. While that filmmaking is admirable in terms of keeping the viewers glued to the screen, director Taylor Hackford could have done a much better job of sorting things out to produce a clean, crisp narrative, instead of one that jumps so often from theme to theme.Overall, this was one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. The acting and plot elements are incredible, but it just tries to do too much and gets lost within itself at times. It could have been epic, but instead (because of those flaws) settles for "above average". If you are a Pacino or Reeves fan, or just like movies that will make you think, "The Devil's Advocate" is very much worth a viewing. It may not fit together perfectly, but you'll be thinking about it long after the TV is turned off.