Tags
1990's, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Connie Nielsen, Horror, Jeffrey Jones, Judith Ivey, Keanu Reeves, Supernatural Horror, Taylor Hackford, The Devil's Advocate, Thriller
Film Title
The Devil’s Advocate
Director
Taylor Hackford
Starring
- Keanu Reeves as Kevin Lomax
- Al Pacino as John Milton
- Charlize Theron as Mary Ann Lomax
- Jeffrey Jones as Eddie Barzoon
- Judith Ivey as Alice Lomax
- Connie Nielsen as Christabella
The Devil’s Advocate may have its fair share of flaws, but thankfully this doesn’t distract from the creepy impact of the film that for the most part successfully criss-crosses genres and features very credible performances from the cast.
Kevin Lomax is a young hotshot lawyer in Florida who has never lost a case that he took. It is precisely this knack for succession that puts him on the radar for a law company in New York, headed by the strange but very charismatic John Milton. Kevin’s God-fearing mother warns him of dangers but he refuses to listen, dismissing what she says as delusions because of her faith. Soon enough, Kevin has moved from Florida to New York and accepted the job in the prestigious law firm, bringing his beautiful wife Mary Ann with him and into a luxurious and spacious apartment. Under the tutelage of Milton, who always seems to be lurking around and is morally corrupt but is very seductive in his offers of luxury and power, what Kevin has left of a conscience is slowly eroded away as his own ambitions and vanity begin to cloud his judgement and he has no qualms about defending the guilty. Meanwhile, a neglected Mary Ann begins to feel increasingly alienated and sees gruesome visions of demons, that lead to her mind disintegrating with fright and uncertainty. As the high-profile cases role in and Mary Ann’s mental capacities crumble alarmingly, Kevin, though blinded by his skyrocketing career, slowly unearths the fact that his superior Milton is somehow not of this world and a deep force of disturbing darkness who has his own devious plans for the young lawyer.
The direction is very well handled by Taylor Hackford, who really knows how to invest a movie with a creeping sense of mystery without overdoing it. Although there is a feeling that everything promised to Kevin is a little too good to be true, many things come as a surprise thanks to the skillful direction of Hackford. I admire the way The Devil’s Advocate builds up slowly and then quickens as the darkness becomes more and more apparent. The exploration of themes of vanity, greed and power were superbly observed with little nods to the damaging and very horrifying results of them as witnessed here in the style of a morality play. Now The Devil’s Advocate isn’t a perfect film and it does have flaws. The chief one being that while the melding of genres between supernatural horror/thriller and courtroom can be well done, the horror aspect, complete with gruesome special effects, dwarfs the legal part of it. That isn’t to say that the courtroom scenes aren’t good, it’s that the supernatural horror/thriller elements emerge on a greater level during the course of the movie. The other flaw is the length of the film, which could have benefited from a few cuts as it runs for too long in the end. Besides these flaws, The Devil’s Advocate is still very entertaining to watch and downright scary in parts with disturbing visuals and demonic ideas. A choral based score that starts out with a veneer of lush enticement soon gives way to something much more frightening, mirroring Kevin’s rise to power and the strange vents that he seems oblivious too as they close in.
Keanu Reeves is not usually my favourite actor(if I’m honest I find him to be a bit wooden in delivery) but he is ideal casting for the role of ambitious Kevin, who is seduced by a world of power that it is almost too late for him to see the horrific darkness that lies underneath everything that he sees. Then we have Al Pacino, full of fire and untamed energy burning across the screen as the Devil, whose seductive and hypnotic presence causes ruin everywhere he looks. Pacino gives the part his all and it really shows in his intense delivery during some electrifying scenes. But I must say the most effective performance in The Devil’s Advocate for me was that of Charlize Theron. Burrowing into the emotional turmoil of Mary Ann as she is neglected and lonely, Theron displays the shocking mental evaporation of her as visions swirl around her and the once bright woman who was full of life is left in unchangeable despair and torture. Jeffrey Jones is well used as a jealous co-worker of Kevin’s who suspects murky machinations behind the scenes, while Judith Ivey exudes a sage presence as Kevin’s religious mother who warns him of the depravity that will await him but to no avail. A sizzling Connie Nielsen slinks across the screen as a seductive worker in league with Milton on his scheme.
It could have done with being a bit tighter in terms of running time and not been as overly ambitious, but for what its worth The Devil’s Advocate sticks in the memory thanks to mysterious and occasionally horrifying elements and cast.
beetleypete said:
I have to agree about Reeves, who is often badly miscast. However, he fits this role well (as he did in ‘Constantine’) and the film is an above-average watch, mainly thanks to a good turn from Pacino. Nice review, V.
Best wishes, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
There are times when I see Reeves in other movies and he is meant to be serious, but he doesn’t come off that way. But he was ideal casting for this part. Pacino was a real live wire here, definitely born to play the devil.
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alexraphael said:
I’m not a huge fan of Reeves either, but his level must have been brought up by the calibre of actors alongside him here. It’s not flawless as you point out, but I’m a big fan of this too. A real insightful review.
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vinnieh said:
Exactly, when you’re working alongside someone like Al Pacino, you gotta raise your game. And Theron as well, what a talented actress she is.
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alexraphael said:
Exactly.
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vinnieh said:
When you work with amazing actors, you can’t slack.
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Marta said:
I love Pacino in this one! He just relishes being in turns seductive, menacing and wise in the ways of the world. Theron shows her skills and Reeves applies successfully his Johnny Utah to this story 😉
Good analysis of the film.
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vinnieh said:
Pacino is just on fire here, he is clearly loving the part he’s playing. And Theron was so tragic and fragile.
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Marta said:
She’s heartbreaking while her mind slips away and fear and madness take hold.
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vinnieh said:
Her eyes are just so expressive and the way they turn from fun and lively to confused and disorientated is chilling.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Great review Vinnie! I have to join the chorus of Reeves dislikers, but I didn’t mind him in this nearly as much as I have in other films. My two favorites in this are Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. They just balanced each other so nicely.
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vinnieh said:
I often find Reeves a bit too comical at times but he was good here. Pacino owned the screen like only he knows how and Theron exuded vulnerability and frightening mental collapse with a huge amount of depth.
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keepsmealive said:
I’ve been meaning to re-watch this one. I got turned off by Pacino in that decade, as he just seemed to think that shouting all the time was the same as powerful acting. Thanks for reminding me of it, though! My library has a copy, I’ll check it out again, see if I agree with my past self.
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vinnieh said:
It’s fun to reevaluate a movie after not seeing it for a while.
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keepsmealive said:
So true. More often than not, a movie I loved the first time often isn’t so great in later viewing. It’ll be curious to see what happens now to a film I didn’t much like back then. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
It’s great to go over movies like this as I always find it interesting to see I’d my opinion has changed drastically or not.
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keepsmealive said:
I’ve got a copy on request at the library and can watch it tonight. We’ll see how it goes, and I’ll report back. 😉
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vinnieh said:
I look forward to seeing how the rewatch goes.
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keepsmealive said:
UPDATE:
Well, as discussed, we just finished watching it again, second time in my life through this movie after the first time way back in the 90s. And you know something? It stands up.
I stand corrected, on this film. Admittedly, it has its ludicrous moments, accents that come and go, and even though I didn’t really remember alot of the plot, I could still see most of what was going to happen coming from a mile away (and that’s not grandstanding, my lovely will vouch for me blurting out upcoming plot points – she loves it when I do that haha).
But despite all of that, it stands up. This film is carried by its actors. Even Keanu, who is often times interchangeable with a 2×4, puts in some real emotion (look at his face in the scene after his wife cuts herself in the hospital). Theron just nails her role. And Pacino? Well, my fear (and memory of him in this movie) is that he shouted a lot more than he actually did here. Sure, he shouted, but he ultimately played his character with waaaay more humour than I remembered. He was deliciously evil and never grossly overt. Well, until the final showdown, but by then it’s all out of the bag, isn’t it!
I wondered at the tagged-on ending. It felt like an afterthought, probably could have been handled more elegantly, in the style of the rest of the film. Ah well, they make it all better by blasting the Stones for the credits. And not Sympathy For The Devil! I’d have thought that was a cinch haha.
Well done. Thanks for sending me towards this film again. It was fun.
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vinnieh said:
Love reading your observations on it. Good to hear that you liked it more on seeing it again, makes me feel like I’ve done my job as a movie blogger successfully.
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keepsmealive said:
You do your job as a movie blogger very well, never fear!
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vinnieh said:
Your compliments are deeply appreciated.
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Parlor of Horror said:
Great film. When Pacino goes into the diatribe about the absentee landlord, oh boy…that is convincing.
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vinnieh said:
He really goes for it there, what a scene it is.
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Annelise B. said:
I like this movie a lot, but it taught me that I never ever shall marry an attorney, as my real name is very similar to the female’s protagonist, haha! I watched it twice and both times I had the same chills, omg! But nevertheless, an awesome movie 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Well they do say that movies teach us some valuable life lessons.
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Annelise B. said:
My point exactly, haha! ;D
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vinnieh said:
Did you see my saucy post after this one? It’s been really well-received.
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Annelise B. said:
I did, but how come Matt Bomer’s picture was so small? Hahaha! You can’t have a good full look like that 😉
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vinnieh said:
Sorry about that, in the future I’ll try and get a bigger picture. You still liked the post right?
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Annelise B. said:
That’s okay, I was just messing with you, haha! Yeah, I did 😀
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vinnieh said:
Did you have a favourite of the bums featured?
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Annelise B. said:
It was a hardship to choose. Matt’s incredible, but the blonde guy also didn’t have it bad himself… I’ll have both, thanks 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Haha, too much choice.
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abbiosbiston said:
At the time when this came out when I was about 16 my parents had just gotten divorced so I used to go to the movies with my dad a lot as a way for us to hang out. We took turns picking the film. This was one of his picks. You can imagine my adolescent horror at having to sit through this much nudity, sex and profanity with my father. We laugh about it now because his choices never got any more appropriate.
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vinnieh said:
I can imagine it would have been embarrassing. I’m like that with sex scenes when my parents are there, I cringe.
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emmakwall said:
Impeccable review Vinnie 🙂 I was especially interested to read this as I haven’t seen it since my teenage years (a very long time ago!!!) and though I don’t remember it being hugely wonderful, I do remember it being quite different. I think I should watch it again 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for commenting, definitely good for a rematch.
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Khalid Rafi said:
I remember seeing this a long time back and liking it quite a bit. I think its definitely underrated.
Great review, as always
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vinnieh said:
Hi Khalid, thanks for commenting. It is underrated in many quarters indeed.
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