Matthew McConaughey has spent the past few years making disappointing romantic comedies, acting as an adult Taylor Lautner with his shirt off half the time. However, in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” he finally keeps his clothes on for the entire film, allowing viewers to pay less attention to his abs and more to his acting talent.
“The Lincoln Lawyer” is an old-fashioned courtroom thriller based on the novel by American crime writer Michael Connelly. With crafty storytelling, an impressive cast and a screenplay from John Romano, the film manages to stay engaging despite its lack of surprising twists. McConaughey especially delivers an exceptionally smooth performance, reminiscent of “A Time to Kill” (1996).
In the film, Mickey Haller (McConaughey) is a Los Angeles defense attorney who handles his business in the back seat of his Lincoln sedan. He has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals who are usually guilty of their crimes. He gets the case of his career when he defends Beverly Hills playboy Louis Roulet (Phillippe), son of a major businessman accused of rape and assault. Haller takes the case after convincing himself that he may actually be defending an innocent man.
But cases like these are never quite that simple, especially in stories based on best-selling novels. While digging deeper into the case, Haller discovers that Roulet might be just as guilty as the rest of his clients. He learns that Roulet may have been responsible for a murder that Haller convinced a former client (Michael Pena) to accept a prison sentence for in a plea bargain. The case turns into a game of survival as Roulet threatens to go after Haller’s family if Haller does not successfully defend him.
The courtroom defense attorney seems to be McConaughey’s ideal role, as he also showed in two of his earliest films, “A Time to Kill” and “Amistad” (1997) — he portrays his character with breezy charisma. Fans of the book probably would have never pictured McConaughey playing Mickey Haller, but they will be in for a pleasant surprise. While McConaughey may be the one in the spotlight, “The Lincoln Lawyer” strongly benefits from its entire acting ensemble, despite the portrayal of two-dimensional characters.
Marisa Tomei plays a prosecutor and Haller’s ex-wife. They hook up every now and then, but they cannot get back together because they work on opposite sides of the courtroom.
William H. Macy, bringing along his long mane from his current “Shameless” Showtime series, plays Haller’s personal investigator. While the performances are noteworthy, the supporting characters serve as either leverage toward the end or are killed at some point of the movie.
Sadly, the film doesn’t offer many plot twists that are as shocking as McConaughey’s performance, since the film’s trailers give them away. One of the two major plot twists especially spoiled the movie, making it less thrilling than expected. It makes me question whether or not the people behind this asinine decision actually saw the movie before they made the trailer.
The best way to describe “The Lincoln Lawyer” is with two simple words: just enough. It contains just enough action, just enough laughs, just enough sex and just enough surprises to keep viewers engaged in the film. Still, McConaughey’s performance is just so darn impressive that it makes watching the film more than worthwhile.