Fridae

The Lincoln Lawyer brings with it the return of two things that were red hot in the 90s: legal thrillers, and Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey, who made it big after his appearance in A Time to Kill as idealistic young lawyer Jake Brigance, has since shown his limited range in being unable to play romantic comedy leads (a number of vehicles) or tough guys (in Reign of Fire). Despite having the looks and the physique, McConaughey has an overwhelming air of raffish charm that makes him most effective when having to be an eloquent, smooth-talking character who relies on his wits more than his muscle.

Such a characterization fits to a T his portrayal of “Lincoln Lawyer” Mickey Haller, so called because he operates out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car driven by his faithful chauffeur Earl (Laurence Mason). Like a sort of latter day superhero, complete with trademark gimmick and personal signature (a vanity plate reading NTGUILTY), McConaughey’s portrayal of Haller is a hoot. Haller is armed with a personal legal bag of tricks to either aid, frustrate or manipulate his preferred clientele of petty criminals, with the occasional murderer and Hell’s Angel thrown in for good measure, and for all the wrong he does, he however operates in a world so shady that everyone’s more or less guilty of something that he might well be a pretty heroic character in his own right. However, when he has to defend rich kid Louis Roulet (Ryan Philippe) who may well be innocent, he finds himself confronted with a mounting number of moral conundrums and even puts his own life in danger.

A fast-paced, well-shot thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer is a rare outing of raw, character-driven storytelling, and McConaughey is also helped by a glorious supporting cast of fine character actors. Marisa Tomei plays his single mom ex-wife with which he enjoys outings with their daughter and still have sex occasionally. John Leguizamo plays bail bondsman Val Valenzuela, William H Macy is Haller’s assistant, and Frances Fisher is Philippe’s powerful mother. The pumping hip hop soundtrack, generally not among my favorite musical genres and annoying if done wrong, fits the vibe of the film’s Los Angeles locations. There is hope that Mickey Haller and his entourage will be back for more adventures as the film’s credits roll, and that a Lincoln Town Car with the vanity plate NTGUILTY will be one of the signature icons of great crime cinema in years to come, and that Matthew McConaughey will continue with what could well be his signature role.

The Lincoln Lawyer is the hottest kind of LA Noir cool, and Mickey Haller is an antihero for the ages.