Movie Review: The Lincoln Lawyer

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good legal thriller with plenty of twists

Cons: Characters are a bit weak

The Bottom Line: 

Book adaptation

The story's fans will love it

And all should enjoy

"I Don't Get It, Haller.  Which Side Are You On?"

Even though I read mysteries all the time, I had never read a Michael Connelly book.  That is until I learned that The Lincoln Lawyer was being made into a movie.  A few months before the film was released, I read the book.  Having watched the film, I've got to say, I am impressed with it.

Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a defense lawyer working in Los Angeles, California.  Since his cases are spread out all over the area, he works from his Lincoln town car.  His clients are as diverse as the drug grower for a bike gang and a prostitute addict.

But Mick thinks his ship has come in when he takes on the case of Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe).  Louis is accused of beating a woman with the intent of killing her.  Louis proclaims his innocence, and it really does look like it will be an easy win for Mick.  Just as his dreams of a big payday begin to fade, things begin to heat up and Mick realizes this case isn't going to be as simple as he thought it would be.  Can he clear Louis' name, or is Louis guilty?

As a reader, I often have a hard time with movies based on books I've read.  They leave too much out, or change things I loved.  I definitely noticed some changes here, but they were minor things.  In fact, in some cases I think it helped the flow of the story.  They certainly did a good job of taking a 400 page book, condensing it down to 2 hours, and leaving in all the twists and turns.

Of course, to do that, some things did have to be cut.  Most of the cutting involved character development.  The characters in the book were richly drawn, and they aren't nearly as real here.  Likewise, some of the twists seemed a little abrupt with little to no explanation to go along with them.  I think I actually understood the story a little better because I'd read the book.  A few things would have me scratching my head if I'd only seen the movie.  But maybe that's me being thick headed and it won't be an issue for anyone.  On the plus side, they did cut down on some parts of the book that I felt dragged.  This story is always movie forward.

When I first heard this movie was being made, I heard people complaining about the casting of Matthew McConaughey as Mick.  This is only one story with the character, and people naturally have an attachment to him.  Since I've only read the one book and it was recently, I didn't have nearly as big a problem with this casting choice.  And I thought Matthew did a great job.  He's charming, smooth, and oily at the beginning, but he delivers the weightier emotions as the story really gets going.  Likewise, Ryan Phillippe is outstanding as Louis.  Any time the scene focuses on the two of them, the dynamic between them is outstanding.  The rest of the cast delivers as well, but those two are really the stars of the film.

I wasn't at all surprised when I learned that this movie was rated R.  Between the language in the book and the sexual nature of the crime at the heart of the story, anything less would have robbed the story of so much.  Just be aware what you are getting into when you step into the theater.

Fans of The Lincoln Lawyer have nothing to worry about.  I don't know how we could have gotten a better film version of the book.  And if you are new to the story, you'll find an entertaining thrill ride that will made you want to search out more of Michael Connelly's books.