Guest Peter the Greek Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 The story of defence lawyer Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) who works from the back seat of his black Lincoln. Haller defends the scum of the world, those obviously guilty and those sometimes not guilty of all manner of offences. The film is the on screen adaptation of the novel by Michael Connelly (2005). This is a thriller of sorts, and to divulge much of the plot would be a huge spoiler, so I’ll not get into it. All I will say is that it has solid and unexpected twists and turns, similar to that of the Tarantino style where it all comes together in the end. I must say though, it is a bit of a stretch as to how it all knits together, but I think it works well enough. The film is directed by Brad Furman (hasn’t done anything of note) who takes the screen play from John Romano (Intolerable Cruelty and Nights in Rodanthe), who combined do the book justice. I think the themes and messages within the novel are well portrayed. So if I can’t talk about the story (which is pretty darn good), I guess I’d better deal with the cast. McConaughey....my god, have I got that guy wrong. Previously I was of the impression that he was only known for getting his shirt off in public. Who would have known he could act!? He plays an extremely convincing role as Haller and brings a gritty depth to the character that I did not at all expect. I suppose if you go all the way back to 1996 in A Time to Kill, you could have seen some of his shining brilliance......good material eh? Perhaps he’s a GIGO actor. Shame he’s been in some dead set shockers e.g. Sahara, Surfer, Dude, and EdTV amongst others. The supporting cast is also first rate, of mention Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, and Laurence Mason. Tomei’s involvement isn’t huge, but then the story isn’t about her. I liked Mason as the driver. If you like crime thrillers like LA Confidential , you’ll really like this. It is well shot, directed, cast and written. There is some good (dark) humour in it as well. Hands down the best new film I’ve seen in a good while. 3.5 Stars
Guest Peter the Greek Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Not in Australia, we saw it at the movies.....July 12 from the look of it
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