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The Devil's
Advocate
***
Cinema
Releases - January 16,
1998
Rated on a 4-star
scale; USA; Directed by Taylor Hackford. Written by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony
Gilroy. Starring Keanu Reeves,
Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones, Judith Ivey, Craig T. Nelson,
Connie Nielsen, Tamara Tunie.
In "The Devil's Advocate" Keanu
Reeves plays Kevin Lomax, a hot young Florida lawyer who hasn't lost a case.
After his miraculous acquittal of an obviously guilty paedophile at the start
of the film, he is invited to work at the New York firm of John Milton (Al
Pacino), who always has an answer for everything, an affable manner, the
hottest tickets in town, the hottest ladies in town and a comical
cackle.
Kevin enjoys his new job in New York. He keeps
on winning cases and is liked by his new colleagues, especially Milton, who
seems to see great potential in the kid. He gets a stunningly beautiful and
spacious apartment, and also, pretty soon, gets assigned to high-profile
cases. The one which takes up the most running time and plot importance is
the murder trial of a big architect, Alex Cullen (Craig T. Nelson, who played
"Coach"), who is accused of offing his wife and stepson.
However, dear readers, all is not well in paradise...
there are creepy going on, like the fact that somehow Milton is all-knowing;
the fact that we the audience see evil, supernatural visions; Milton's enemies
meet with brutal accidents; and Kevin's wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron),
the one having the evil visions, slowly deteriorates into a petrified
wreck.
What's going on? Some of you may know the twist
here, and the double meaning of the title. If you don't, I suggest you stop
reading now. If you do, you know that Milton is the bad dude down below,
the Devil, Satan, Lucifer. "So many names," Milton himself
grins.
After this is revealed, "The Devil's Advocate"
becomes a pretty weird and creepy movie. It had been unsettling throughout,
but this turns it into a film of jarring,horror-movie effects. It also develops
some preposterous themes to the point where the plot can't be paid attention
to any longer -- one has to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
When we like a movie and yet don't care how silly
it becomes, all kinds of possibilities are opened up to the filmmakers, and
"The Devil's Advocate" takes advantage of them. We get some cute (if ridiculous)
theories from bad boy Milton about how God is really the evil one and the
Devil just likes to accommodate human desire. Characters are twisted around
into all sorts of unexpected roles and behaviour patterns. Effects are used
well, like when a sculpture (which the credits reassuringly state is not
based on any real-life sculpture) comes alive as a tool of Milton's power.
In a way, the movie is like a cross between "Scooby-Doo", "Showgirls" and
"Murder One". If that combination sounds like the ultimate in cheesy but
brilliant, brainless but stirring entertainment...well, it pretty much
is.
For this reason, it's a pity that "The Devil's
Advocate" is opening on the same day as Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece
"Boogie Nights". Many cinemagoers will quite rightly choose to see
Anderson's film. After that, "Titanic" opens in the UK and I can't help feeling
that "The Devil's Advocate" will only be seen a by a few horror fans and
a few die-hard Keanu fans.
The film -- directed by Taylor Hackford, who directed
the much different "An Officer and a Gentleman" -- does, however, deserve
to be sought ought some day. Keanu is not doing his best work as this comic-book
lawyer, but he's fun to watch. Charlize Theron gives a stunning performance
of writhing in agony which would work to great effect in a genuine horror
film. Al Pacino steals all of his scenes, hamming it up wonderfully, relishing
his cackle of glee with great energy.
Admirably, the editors manage to squeeze out two
or three moments of genuine shock and terror amidst all the fun gore, and
the writers, as I've said, deserve praise for allowing themselves the
self-confidence to write a screenplay without boundaries. One word of advice
to them, if they're reading: Try your hand at some real courtroom dramas
next time. The courtroom scenes in "The Devil's Advocate", although mere
gap-fillers, were still quite absorbing. If you put in the effort, you could
end up with something very good.
To sum up? Let me just say this... How many other
movies do you know in which the guy who played "Coach" plays an accused
murderer?
COPYRIGHT©
1998 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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