The Devil's Advocate Review
by Jamie Peck (jpeck1 AT gl DOT umbc DOT edu)October 17th, 1997
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
RATING: **** (out of ****)
Warner Bros. / 2:14 / 1997 / R (language, violence, nudity, sex)
Cast: Keanu Reeves; Al Pacino; Charlize Theron; Jeffery Jones; Judith Ivey; Craig T. Nelson; Delroy Lindo
Director: Taylor Hackford
Screenplay: Tony Gilroy; Jonathan Lemkin
Al Pacino plays none other than Satan himself in "The Devil's Advocate," but as insidiously campy as the resulting premise might sound, the movie is a cunning treasure rather than a guilty pleasure. Here's a black comedy-thriller that succeeds in earning both hearty laughs and jolting shocks, a probable crowd-pleasing synergy that should keep audiences packed into theater seats well into late autumn.
"The Devil's Advocate" is Pacino's movie even if it does cast Keanu Reeves in the lead role. Reeves plays Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax, whose in-court prowess is proved when he single-handedly turns the tables on a young witness who is accusing his creep schoolteacher defendant of sexually molesting her. We get the feeling the guy did it, but Kevin gets him off regardless. Among the courtroom audience is an attorney from a powerful New York firm who has heard of Kevin's no-miss acquittal record and would very much like to recruit him. Kevin succumbs to the promise of financial solvency, and heads up north with his pretty wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron of "2 Days in the Valley" and "That Thing You Do!") despite the objections of his Bible-thumping mother (dowdy Judith Ivey).
Upon his arrival, Kevin quickly bonds with the firm's president, a rich, enigmatic man named John Milton (Pacino). Kevin is easily seduced into his new friend's world of wealth and power, but things are different for Mary Ann. After seeing frightening, supernatural occurrences she can't explain (including glimpses of some of the partners' wives' faces changing briefly to something altogether sinister), she begins to doubt that everything is as perfect as it seems. Kevin dismisses her paranoia as anxiety over their lack of time to start a family and instead, focuses on a high-profile murder defense for a probably-guilty client (Craig T. Nelson) that could win him even more acclamation.
Given that both the previews and the title give away the movie's central twist -- obviously that Milton is really the devil -- I had feared that the movie would fail at creating suspense and pretty much be a one-joke yarn. But what's so great about The Devil's Advocate is how dramatic the material is. It matters less that Milton is Satan than what will happen to the two protagonists -- Kevin's temptation and redemption and Mary Ann's dilapidating stability take center stage here. The resulting mental tug-of-war between the three is scary, sexy and altogether superb, allowing a two-and-a-quarter-hour running time to speed by faster than the 93-minute "Playing God."
Of course, the Ira Levin-esque story ("Rosemary's Attorney," perhaps?) is only made stronger by extremely lavish production values. The cinematography and set design, particularly Milton's sacrificial chamber-like office and the erotic mural that hangs behind his desk, are dark, creepy and effective in establishing mood. James Newton Howard's score always teases upcoming surprises but never becomes manipulative. The movie even surprises in limiting its reliance on showy special effects, notwithstanding a spectacular end 20 minutes that caps off with one of the best closing scenes ever put to film. As things are playing out, you keep wondering how on earth a satisfying finale will be possible. Not only does it sate expectation, but it's also loaded with the genius downbeat-but-upbeat deviousness that sent "The Usual Suspects" into the send-off stratosphere.
The acting from Pacino is exactly as suspected -- stellar. He eats (or burns) the scenery up, playing each horrific scene with a devilish smile that you can't help nodding at. He's got a number of great scenes, the best of which is probably when he calmly subdues a pair of vicious subway hoodlums. With this and "Donnie Brasco" under his belt this year, he's got two chances at Oscar gold. Theron is award-worthy too, fleshing out a character that a lesser movie would have employed as window dressing. She's beautiful and strong, and holds her own in scenes with Pacino. Reeves is the true surprise here. His on-again, off-again accent is a tad distracting, but Reeves accomplishes his best dramatic role to date. When the movie spins a nasty surprise past the three-quarter mark, he emotes beautifully. The directing by Taylor Hackford is seamless, as well as a fantastic follow-up to his exceptional 1995 thriller "Dolores Claiborne."
Like John Milton, "The Devil's Advocate" can be called so many things. It's Faust meets John Grisham. It's "Rosemary's Baby" for the age of legal extremes. It's a morality tale with one heckuva moral. "The Devil's Advocate" is all of these and more, rolled up into one fascinating, near-flawless movie.
© 1997 Jamie Peck
E-mail: [email protected]
Visit the Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/
More on 'The Devil's Advocate'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
