Director: Brad Furman
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe
Plot: A defence attorney takes on a difficult case involving a wealthy client, which isn’t all that it seems.
Matthew McConaughey has made half a career by playing the charming, tall dark stranger with a southern drawl who can’t wait to get his shirt off that apparently every chick-flick fan dreams about.
As far as the other half is concerned, his filmography shows an actor unafraid of playing the odd challenging role - this thankfully falls into the latter of the two.
Taken from the novel of the same name by Michael Collins, The Lincoln Lawyer is not your usual courtroom drama. Instead of just tackling the most obvious dilemma of a defence lawyer, the guilty client walking free, the plot complicates such a situation by linking in the consequence an innocent client in prison – connected to the same crime. While there are a few inevitable clichés, Brad Furman keeps the plot racing along with the odd twist or two and McConaughey himself is impressive as sleazy attorney Mick Haller who has a crisis of conscience.
This is a well-worked, entertaining film and is certainly a gripping novel-to-screen adaptation.
Rating: 
