The
Devil's Advocate (1997)
"It's a Faustian tale with a contemporary twist"
- Taylor Hackford
When I watch a film like "Devil's Advocate," a scene
always pops into my head. It's a Hollywood party and
all of the film community elite are there, actors and
directors and scripters and producer and studio heads
and the flunkies. Everyone at the party is looking for
their next "project" and in a state of drunken revelry,
they decide to put a bunch of names of popular movies
into a hat. They will pick two names of movies at random
out of the hat, combine the best elements of these and
make their next movie. In this case the two slips of
paper pulled from the cap are "The Firm" and "Rosemary's
Baby."
Keanu Reeves, macho superstud actor and rock musician
pulls his weight as a lawyer from Florida with a subtle
(read that: off again, on again) Southern accent. He
really does a pretty good job here considering his reputation
of late has been less than stellar. He's supposed to
be cocky and arrogant so he is really perfectly cast.
He struts through the film like the "cock of the walk"
only to find out, much to his horror, that this is exactly
what he's destine to do. What else could deflate such
conceit? Keanu plays rather well of Al Pacino's mischievous
grin which acts as his character here. Pacino looks
like he's having fun even though he doesn't really do
anything new here. We expect him to go "Hoo-ahh" like
his character in "Scent of a Woman" at any minute. In
this respect, at least, he is surprisingly reserved.
In every other aspect here, he is over-the-top to the
point of annoyance,
Others in the cast give great performances. Charlize
Theron, playing Keanu's wife, is required to go from
90's woman to stark raving lunatic and does so with
seeming ease. She is perfect coupled with Keanu as she
evolves from his equal to increasingly out of his grasp.
She's an actress to look out for. Meanwhile, Judith
Ivey, who has vitalized numerous lame TV sitcoms, looks
downright plain as a Keanu's Bible-thumping mother.
Ivey, with her usual quality, makes a character out
of what could be, in the hands of someone less talented,
a caricature. She is required to deliver a key piece
of information in the film's last reel and does so in
a manner that makes the plot-twist work. And Craig T.
Nelson, TV's "Coach," takes a turn as a rather unlikable
second character and surprises us with his talent. Like
many of the others in the supporting cast, he performs
above our expectations. Also in the line-up are Jeffrey
Jones (no surprises), Debra Monk (a wonderful character
actress), Tamara Tuney, and Heather Matarazzo (in little
more than a cameo). Speaking of cameos, Don King and
Senator Alphonse Diamato drop by to get a paycheck.
Director Taylor Hackford ("An Officer and a Gentleman,"
"Deloris Claiborne") does a marvellous job of keeping
the action and plot moving. The film is really never
boring. Plus he fills his screen with an opulent landscape
of New York wealth that perfectly accentuates the film's
theme. Of particular note is a sculpture which literally
comes alive during the film's climax. Hackford also
uses some interesting "wipe" techniques early on in
the film which add some interest to the viewing. He
wisely abandons these though, as the plot evolves and
there is no need for them.
Based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman, the script by
Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy has very few holes.
There is only one problem with the film and that is
a stupid, ridiculous twist at it's end which doesn't
need to be there. In the attempt to be "clever" the
film's end comes across like a bad "Twilight Zone" remake.
I don't know how the novel ends, but here, it doesn't
work. The film leaves open a doorway for a sequel that
need not be there. It also negates the huge conclusion
to the story that we have just witnessed. There was
a chance to make the entire plot seem like a flash of
an idea, of crystalized moment of intense panic experienced
by Keanu at a "fork in the road" in his life stretched
into a unruly extreme. This would be wonderful. But
the film goes elsewhere instead.
"The Devil's Advocate" is a good film, none-the-less.
It's one of those Hollywood hybrids that works. Too
bad it's last 20 seconds disappoint the fuck out of
ya.
Note:
Music by James Newton Howard. "Paint It Black" by
the Rolling Stones is played over the end credits.
The script floated around Hollywood for almost a decade.
At one time Joel Schumacker was to direct Brad Pitt
in the film.
(Review written in 1997)
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