Kevin Lomax, a hot-shot attorney from Gainesville, Florida with a perfect record in the courtroom, is given the opportunity of a lifetime when a major New York law firm retains him to help pick a jury for a tough case. His jury returns a not guilty verdict when it seemed impossible, and the boss takes notice. Next thing you know, Kevin is meeting with the charismatic John Milton, the head of the firm, in his incredible office with a view to die for.
Milton gives Kevin a dream job, a fantasitc apartment, and a salary beyond his wildest imagination. Kevin takes on high profile cases, hobnobs with the rich and famous, and lives the life of a big city lawyer on the fast track to partnership. In the meantime, his wife Mary Ann is falling apart trying to adjust to her new life and the companionship of the other lawyers' wives with whom she finds herself spending her time.
Oh, and all of these lawyers and their wives just might be demons.
Will Kevin be seduced by the diabolical temptations of fame, fortune, sex, and power that Milton places in his path? Will Mary Ann lose her mind? Will Kevin lose his soul?
The Devil's Advocate doesn't bother walking the line between the supernatural and the real world, at least not in the sense of making the audience question what they are seeing. There's little doubt from the get-go that John Milton is the Devil himself and Kevin's soul is on the line. When all the cards are on the table and Kevin finally gets it, then the fun really begins. Honestly, the final showdown scene has some of my favorite lines in the history of film. I won't spoil any here.
On-again/off-again Florida accents notwithstanding, Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron give good performances here. And the movie is loaded with great supporting actors: Craig T. Nelson, Jeffrey Jones, Delroy Lindo, and a healthy handful of other familiar faces.
But the king of the hill here is the man himself - Al Pacino as John Milton. He sinks his teeth into this role like a dog with a t-bone steak. Pacino's sardonic smile and arch delivery imbue the character with a seductive shine and a devilish menace. The role is over-the-top, bordering on silly at times, but it is tailor-made for Pacino's brand of canned ham and he plays it to the hilt.
Some might get caught up in the theology of the morality play here, questioning certain aspects of the characters and so-on. Some might say it's too on-the-nose or there are too many moments of cheese. I say it's brilliant in its over-the-top madness. If the Devil is real, he wishes he could be like Al Pacino, because Pacino's having a hell of a fun time.
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