What Do The Critics Say?
"The Lincoln Lawyer is something we haven't seen in ages, a cracking good courtroom drama that is filled with ingenious twists and compelling characters. McConaughey should stick to drama. The Lincoln Lawyer features one of his best performances in ages. Also features nice support from Phillippe."
Lori Hoffman ATLANTIC CITY WEEKLY
"Matthew McConaughey does a fine job as Mick Haller, who operates out of a Lincoln Continental and I do mean "operates." He’s one slick attorneyThe Lincoln Lawyer is a well-crafted, well-cast adaptation of Michael Connelly’s best-selling novel, shot on interesting Los Angeles locations. It’s a crime thriller with whodunit overtones, and there are twists right to the very end."
Leonard Maltin MOVIE CRAZY
"It's a slick, cleverly plotted thriller with plenty of twists, smart hard-boiled dialogue and fine supporting performances, most especially William H Macy as a seedy private eye who's rightly proud of his investigative skills."
Philip French UK GUARDIAN
'Not since John Grisham's The Firm has there been such a stylish lawyer tale as this. Based on a bestseller by Michael Connelly, the best thing about this thriller, murder mystery and courtroom drama is the surprise element and that we have no idea where it is going to lead. This is a great yarn filled with twists, turns, surprises and colourful characters that are anything but black and white."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"This is rock-solid entertainment. McConaughey, steers this Lincoln into what could be a hell-raising franchise. a slam-bang twister of a legal thriller, full of whiplash energy, tasty acting and a decadent, scuzzy sense of Los Angeles as a perfect hell for the beautiful and the damned."
Peter Travers ROLLING STONE
"While it sticks to the courtroom thriller formula, this is an entertaining ride thanks to a terrific screenplay and Matthew McConaughey's magnetic lead performance. An excellent ensemble cast all deliver memorable performances, with special mention to William H. Macy as a quick witted investigator and Michael Pena as a hard done by prisoner. Yet it is McConaughey who is the face and heart of The Lincoln Lawyer, using that easy charm and magnetic screen presence to full effect."
Matthew Pejkovic FILMINK
"Briskly paced, nicely noirish and populated by many actors you trust: William H. Macy, Frances Fisher, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo and Michael Pena all turn up here; The Lincoln Lawyer is a solid crime drama worth seeing. There's plenty of tension and intrigue underpinning the events; the writing is good and the acting is first-rate. This is a good story, well told."
Liz Braun JAM!MOVIES
"Fingers crossed that this turns into a franchise, as Mick Haller is such a charismatic and intriguing character with many layers still to be peeled. Matthew McConaughey's mesmerising turn as a maverick criminal defense lawyer elevates this adaptation of Michael Connelly's 2005 murder mystery into a thoroughly engrossing entity."
Ben Rawson-Jones DIGITAL SPY
"Above all else, The Lincoln Lawyer is enjoyable because of McConaughey. Even Phillippe puts in a good performance. An amazing cast, some fun mystery, twists and turns that will entertain you and Matthew McConaughey reminding the audience why they like and root for him."
Willie Waffle WAFFLE MOVIES
"One of the notable pleasures of The Lincoln Lawyer is the life-like contradictions in Mick Haller's character. The well observed script has Mick happily defending criminals but scared of having an innocent person wrongly jailed. The plot details are ingeniously handled and structured, the rhythm of the film is just right and the tone is pitch perfect: light and serious when needed, but never heavy, even when the themes darken. Just what an escapist thriller should be."
Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE
The Inside Story
Lawyers and the vagaries of the justice system have long been a staple of the big screen, but audiences have never seen a lawyer quite like Michael 'Mick' Haller in "The Lincoln Lawyer". A streetwise defense attorney, Mick Haller has no office: instead, he works out of the backseat of a chauffeured Lincoln Continental; driving from one Los Angeles court house to another to defend various petty criminals who've run afoul of the justice system. "Many people would likely consider Mick an ambulance chaser, a guy who?s a bottom feeder," Matthew McConaughey, who stars as Mick Haller, admitted. "He's a guy who's financially living from month to month, trying to support his ex-wife and his daughter, and defending people like prostitutes or someone busted on a drug charge, and a lot of smaller crimes." Mick's a wheeler-dealer type," producer Gary Lucchesi says. "Ninety percent of his cases plead out. He makes a deal and gets out." And he is always on the move, which is why the Lincoln Continental serves as the ideal mobile office. "He has five or six cases going at once and they're all spread out across the county, which is geographically pretty wide," producer Tom Rosenberg explained. "The best way for him to get from courtroom to courtroom is to be driven." But despite his frequent back-room dealings, Mick also has his own code of ethics, and he believes in helping the downtrodden who have no one else on their side. "The truth is, Mick might have been a Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer and succeeded, but the guy's got a lot of heart and humanity and that's why I think he stayed with the bottom level criminals. It's where he feels the most needed, where he feels the most humane and it's where he's comfortable. Mick's been consistent with who he is from the beginning," 1997 Lone Star Film & Television Award winner McConaughey (Rising Star Actor) says. Best-selling mystery/thriller novelist Michael Connelly, who wrote the book on which "The Lincoln Lawyer" is based, first conceived of the story while talking with a neighboring fan at a Dodgers baseball game in Los Angeles. "He was a lawyer and I asked him where his office was and he said, 'Actually, I work out of my car.' I went on watching the game, and by the time it was over, I felt strongly that, based on our conversation, I had a whole book and a character that could go the distance." Before Connelly's book was published, the manuscript was sent to noted film producers Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi, partners in Lakeshore Entertainment. Rosenberg and Lucchesi read the galleys and were immediately attracted to the story for separate, personal reasons. Rosenberg, who did criminal defense work as an attorney, related to the character of Mick Haller from a legal point of view. While Lucchesi, who produced "Primal fear" early in his Hollywood career, had been looking to make another film about a smart, irascible, tough-guy lawyer. "We haven't seen a lawyer like Mick Haller on screen before," Rosenberg says. "When you're a criminal lawyer almost all of your clients are guilty. If they're not guilty of the crime for which you're defending them, they're probably guilty of other crimes. That's just the nature of things. And Mick Haller, as an attorney, is as smart as they come." As soon as the producers acquired the rights to the novel, they set out to find the ideal screenwriter to adapt the material for a feature film. "Although we considered various writers, we had worked with John Romano on a successful adaptation of another book," Lucchesi ("The Cave ") says. "John has a great reputation and a long resume of feature film and television projects to his credit. "We knew that he had the right sensibilities to bring this character and story to the screen. He delivered an amazing script to us, and one that Michael Connelly was very happy with, too."
Lucchesi also points out: "When you have a well known author like Michael Connelly you obviously want him to like the product that you're creating from his original work." The producers next approached an actor who seemed tailor made to play Mick Haller: Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey, who played attorney Jake Tyler Brigance in his first major film role, "A Time To Kill" (which also starred Sandra Bullock, Samuel L Jackson, Kevin Spacey & Oliver Platt), recalls: "I had read an early version of the script and when Tom and Gary came to me with an offer, I eagerly accepted." Lucchesi admits, "Matthew has always been one of my favorite actors, and this role is perfect for him. We get to see him play all those qualities that made him a star to begin with: a confident guy with a bit of swagger and loads of charm." "We'd always thought Matthew excelled in dramatic roles and this was an opportunity for him: after doing a lot of comedies; to take on a weightier role again," Rosenberg adds. For McConaughey, the role of Mick Haller was a natural fit, partly because it recalled the actor's early career ambitions. "When I was in college at the University of Texas, I was going to be a criminal defense lawyer," he says. "For the film I tried to understand all the details of being a defense lawyer. I had a lot of questions for different lawyers about the technical aspects: what's the reality of this situation, how would this go down? Where did I get this information? If my private investigator got bad information, how did he get it?" Conversely, finding the right director to bring the project to the screen turned out to be a long process. It was ultimately McConaughey who suggested that the producers consider director Brad Furman for the job. "After I accepted the offer to play Mick Haller, we went on a director hunt. I had met Brad Furman for another project that I have at my production company and we clicked." Furman had previously directed John Leguizamo, Tyrese Gibson and Rosie Perez the 2007 crime/drama, "The Take", which McConaughey says, "Captures L.A. wonderfully." He also notes:, "Brad really understands the street aspect of "The Lincoln Lawyer". He understands how the justice system works, and the injustice inherent in it, too." "We spent some time with Brad and then we called up Matthew and said, 'We really like your guy.' The next thing you know, we committed to Brad and started to make the film, " Lucchesi recalls. Furman particularly appreciated the script's complexity and intelligence as well as the vibrant cast of characters that Romano and Connelly had created. "It's a bit of a throwback to what I believe great films and classic filmmaking are. It was exactly the type of film that I was searching for. And both of my parents, and my grandfather too, are attorneys, so I know that world well." For the pivotal role of Louis Roulet, the filmmakers auditioned a number of actors before offering the role to the much-lauded Ryan Phillippe. Rosenberg, who had cast Pillippe as Harlan Dykstra in the 1998 film, "Homegrown", which also starred John Lithgow, Hank Azaria, Kelly Lynch and Billy Bob Thornton, recalls: "and he was great in it. I'd kept track of him and his career and when his agent called to say that he wanted to audition for the role of Roulet, we were excited." "Louis Roulet is unlike anything I've played before," the 2006 SAG Award winner for "Crash" explained. "I was drawn to the idea of playing this guy who's so deeply troubled. I couldn't wait to mine all of his psychological characteristics." So how did 2006 Black Reel Award winner Pillippe and 2006 People's Choice Award winner McConaughey get on, while on the set? "Matthew and I have a great chemistry together and it was great to watch him be so in his element," Phillippe ("Stop-Loss") says. "It's been fun because both of our characters are manipulating each other."
What I think is so interesting and original in terms of their dynamic together is that we've created a lawyer and client who essentially hate each other. It's a fascinating relationship." When the producers and Furman were considering who would play Haller's ex-wife Maggie McPherson, there was only one actress they wanted: Academy Award® winner Marisa Tomei ("My Cousin Vinny"). "We wanted an actress who was a contemporary of Matthew's and who would be totally credible as Haller's ex-wife, who is also a prosecuting attorney. Marisa had the intelligence and charisma to bring this character to life," osenberg (who also worked with Phillippe on "MacGruber") says. Tomei impressed Furman from the moment of their first meeting. "First of all, Marisa is all heart. She has so much passion and cares so deeply that there's nothing she doesn't do without a hundred and fifty percent and thinking everything through. When we first met she had five million questions for me about every piece of the filmmaking process." Based on the strength of the script and commitments from McConaughey, Phillippe and Tomei, the project attracted a notably high caliber of actors for its rich supporting roles. William H Macy, who plays Frank Levin, a private investigator and Mick's best friend." Macy (who co-starred with McConaughey and Steve Zahn on the 2005 Breck Eisner film, "Sahara") revealed: "I tried to bring some levity to the project because it is deadly serious. So I approached it with a light touch and anywhere I could find a place for a little bit of a giggle, I put it in." "There's nobody like Bill. He has his own individual performance style and his innate ability to hit moments naturally is so wonderful to watch. He just makes the filmmaking process so easy," says Furman. John Leguizamo (he voices Sid in "Ice Age"), plays bail bondsman Val Valenzuela. He relished playing a character who is deeply flawed yet still sympathetic. "Val sets the whole thing with Roulet in motion. He's always looking for a chance to make a little extra cash and hook up his friends at the same time, but this time he sets off a little lie that ends up getting Mick into trouble." Even though he only has a handful of scenes in the film, actor Michael Pena ("World Invasion: Battle LA") makes a powerful impression as Jesus Martinez, Mick's former client who's been putting in jail time for a crime he didn't commit. "The scenes between Matthew and me are pretty potent," he says. It's a turning point for Mick when he learns that I was wrongly convicted. He becomes almost a different person." McConaughey agrees. "Mick helped put Jesus in prison when he was innocent and now Jesus has been there for four years. So how does he make amends? Getting an innocent man out of jail and getting his freedom back is more important to Mick than anything else." Mick's adversary in court, assistant D.A. Ted Minton, is portrayed by actor Josh Lucas as a man who's precise and used to playing by the rules. "But at a certain point Ted realizes that in order to win against Mick he has to play like him, too, which means playing more dangerously than he normally would." To research his role, Lucas, who lives in New York City, would walk to his local courthouse and watch various real-life cases in process. "One of the amazing things about the U.S. legal system is that you can walk into the courtroom and watch any trial. Whether it's murder, rape or aggravated assault, you get a list and you can just sit down and watch the amazing judicial process that happens in this country." Homicide detective Lankford, played by Bryan Cranston, is another figure who pits himself against Mick Haller. "I'm kind of a hard ass and I hate the way Mick keeps ruining my hard work by getting criminals off on technicalities." Country music superstar Trace Adkins, plays Eddie, the leader of a motorcycle gang.
What's It All About?
 Michael 'Mick' Haller, is a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan and believes his clients are innocent. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands, what seems at first to be, the case of a lifetime. Thanks to bond bailsman Val Valenzuela, he's given the job of defending rich Beverly Hills playboy Louis Roulet, who has been charged with the attempted murder of young prostitute Reggie Campo. However, what initially appears to be a straight-forward case with a big money pay-off swiftly spirals downwards into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and, a crisis of conscience for Haller. The uneasy situation between the client and his attorney take a turn for the worse Haller's investigator, Frank Levin, is shot dead after uncovering vital evidence.
The Verdict
"Those who are fans of Matthew McConaughey will be quick to point out that this is not the first time he's played a Lawyer on the bigscreen and they'd be right. McConaughey made a huge mark back in 1996 when he played Jake Tyler Brigance in Joel Schumacher's, "A Time to Kill". Fifteen years on, critics are once again singing the praises of McConaughey: this time for his outstanding performance as lawyer Michael 'Mick' Haller in "The Lincoln Lawyer." Over the years filmgoers have been treated to some stunning performances in film and television productions, where the star character was a Lawyer. Can't remember any? Come On! How about these beauties: Denzel Washington in "Philadelphia", Jim Carrey in "Liar, Liar", George Clooney in "Intolerable Cruelty", Edward Norton in "The People vs Larry Flynt", Tom Cruise in "A Few Good Men", Paul Newman in "The Verdict" and, what about Raymond Burr as the wheelchair bound lawyer in "Perry Mason". And then there are the classics. Two immediately spring to mind. "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) in which lawyer Fred Gailey (John Payne), defended an old man who claimed to be the real Santa Claus. But, the gong for greatest lawyer film of all time must go to 1963 triple Oscar® winner "To Kill a Mocking Bird" (by 1960 Pulitzer Prize winner and 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Harper Lee) , which starred Gregory Peck (Best Actor Oscar®) as Atticus Finch defending Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man charged with rape. So how does "The Lincoln Lawyer" stack up against some of the afore mentioned films? To be fair? Pretty good. I'm always quick to point out that comparissons with films from the past are useless, but I will say this: in the modern era "The Lincoln Lawyer" has plenty going for it. This adaptation of the Michael Connelly novel is a slick production featuring, not only an excellent cast, but also a deadly, escalating 'cat & mouse' game between lawyer Mick and his client Roulet that will keep you rivetted to the screen. And it's all wrapped up in a storyline that will keep you guessing as to who did what and who's innocent. Or, as the number plates on Mick's chauffeur-driven black Lincoln proclaim: NTGUILTY. Very Recommended. 4 1/2 STARS."
Who Is Playing Who?
Matthew McConaughey
Marisa Tomei
Ryan Phillippe
William H. Macy
Josh Lucas
John Leguizamo
Michael Peña
Bob Gunton
Frances Fisher
Bryan Cranston
Trace Adkins
Laurence Mason
Margarita Levieva
Pell James
Shea Whigham
Katherine Moennig
Michael Paré
Michaela Conlin
Mackenzie Aladjem
Reggie Baker
Javier Grajeda
David Castro
Conor O'Farrell
Charlie Hirsch
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Mick Haller
Maggie McPherson
Louis Roulet
Frank Levin
Ted Minton
Val Valenzuela
Jesus Martinez
Cecil Dobbs
Mary Windsor
Detective Lankford
Eddie Vogel
Earl
Reggie Campo
Lorna
Corliss
Gloria
Detective Kurlen
Detective Sobel
Hayley Haller
Judge Fullbright
Bailiff Reynaldo
Harold Casey
Judge Orton Powell
Prosecutor
The Production Team
Directed by Brad Furman
Screenplay by John Romano
Adapted from the Michael Connelly novel "The Lincoln Lawyer"
Produced by Sidney Kimmel/Gary Lucchesi/Tom Rosenberg/Scott Steindorff/Richard S Wright
Original Music by Cliff Martinez
Cinematography by Lukas Ettlin
Film Editing by Jeff McEvoy
Casting by Deborah Aquila & Mary Tricia Wood
Production Design by Charisse Cardenas
Set Decoration by Nancy Nye
Costume Design by Erin Benach
Rated M [AUST]
Run Time 118 minutes
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