The Devil's Advocate
Chad'z rating: **1/2 (out of 4 = OK)
1997, R, 138 minutes [2 hours, 18 minutes]
[drama/thriller]
starring: Keanu Reeves (Kevin Lomax), Al Pacino (John Milton), Charlize Theron (Mary Ann Lomax), Jeffrey Jones (Eddie Barzoon), written by Tony Gilroy, Jonathon Lemkin, produced by Arnold and Anne Kopelson, Arnon Milchan, directed by Taylor Hackford, based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman.
Seen Monday, October 20, 1997 at 7 p.m. at the Glenwood Movieplex Cinemas in Oneida, N.Y., by myself for free (free pass). Theater rating: ***1/2
It's clear the premise to "The Devil's Advocate" is, "What if the devil came to Earth in human form today?" That's certainly an original concept, and surprisingly, this isn't any kind of disguised horror film. The problem is, it's impossible to tell where the film intends to go with this concept until the very end.
Keanu Reeves stars as Kevin Lomax, a defense attorney from Florida who doesn't always enjoy defending the accused, but he's never lost a case and sees no reason to quit. The opening scene involves the trial of a child molester which seems realistic for the most part, although one can't help but notice the Hollywood atmosphere to it all. Still, Lomax manages to get through the trial by introducing new evidence and twisting facts. For some reason, it's hard to dislike Reeves' character, especially considering how stiff he seems (playing a lawyer doesn't help any).
Soon the movie progresses as Kevin and his wife Mary Ann (Theron) move to New York City where Kevin has just been offered a job at the top law firm in the country. He knows how to pick favorable juries, and he proves his mettle with these big shots as soon as he arrives. Kevin is so good, John Milton (Pacino), a senior partner of the firm, not only congratulates him but completely befriends him. Pacino is excellent and especially charming here as this confident, intelligent executive. Milton takes Kevin under his wing and for the entire mid-section of the film, we get nothing but the atmosphere of the rich, debutante lifestyle. Unfortunately, this is also the film's biggest problem.
We already know Milton is actually Satan himself, but why is he here on Earth and what does Kevin have to do with anything? The film barely provides us with any clues to these questions. Some hints are slowly dropped, but they're done so in generic horror manners. Instead of the characters' dialogue and actions revealing their true identity, we get visions of demons that are more startling than they are scary. Most of these incidents involve Mary Ann, and of course she tries to explain what's going on and begs Kevin to leave, but she also seems to be going insane. There's also an overall feeling of surrealism and it's difficult to tell if things are real or hallucinations or dreams. The screenplay's pacing does this in a Hitchcock-esque way, but it doesn't play up its humanism as well as it should.
For much of the film I just wondered where everything was going. There is essentially no plot at all, and although the storytelling is fine, there just seems to be an emptiness to it all. The first half concentrates mostly on the characters which makes for good drama, but the second half seems to turn on a dime into melodrama. All Mary Ann does is cry and scream while all Milton does is talk to Kevin in more rhetoric which doesn't seem to have any relevance.
The last act is not a resolution, but a culmination of the everything to come before. The entire film exists for the ending, which is a cross between modern mythology and classic philosophy. It's interesting to watch at the time, but in retrospect, there still seems to be something missing. There's actually two endings to the film - the first of is poetic, but the second I didn't think was necessary (hint: it's reminiscent of "The Shining").
There's a lot of good stuff to "The Devil's Advocate," but the screenplay and the individual events never seem to lead to anything or have a point. Its originality is commendable, but this film could have been and should have been much better than it is because it doesn't take enough advantage of its thematic elements.
e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com (C) 1997 Chad Polenz
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