The Lincoln Lawyer: Based on the book of the same name by author Michael Connelly, Matthew McConaughey is Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney whose clients range from drug-dealing biker gangs to prostitutes and accused murderers. He’s a slick huckster who wheels, deals, and scams the system from the back of his Lincoln town car (he lost his license prior to the film and has to be chauffeured around, hence the title). A bail bondsman acquaintance throws Haller a bone, dropping the case of a rich young man (Ryan Phillippe) accused of assaulting a prostitute into his lap. Seeing dollar signs, Haller gets to work, but soon finds out he may be out of his depth, and that his affinity for taking cases from low-rent losers has compromised his own sense of innocence and justice, opening him up to manipulation by individuals who may in fact be truly evil. Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, and Josh Lucas are here in support, along with an older, pudgier MICHAEL PARE, who I’m pretty sure hasn’t had a theatrical release in over a decade. McConaughey is great as Haller, a great role as a flawed, conflicted lawyer, and his supporting cast is excellent. The screenplay is well put together, though it may have one climax too many. It reminds me of the better Grisham legal thrillers like “The Firm“ (which is something we haven‘t seen in a while since Hollywood ran the Grisham train into the ground; here‘s hoping they don‘t do that to Connelly‘s oeuvre as well). Only the second motion picture from director Brad Furman, this is a winner. Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”
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