Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) may be the best trial lawyer you ever meet. He's never lost a case. So when he manages to win one where he just knows the guy is guilty, he attracts some unexpected attention.
He gets an invitation from a fancy New York City law firm to come up and visit, all expenses paid, to pick a jury. And what's more is that he gets to bring his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) along for the ride. It's too good to be true.
This is perhaps where the whole thing falls apart. I know that it's a movie and so you have to suspend some parts of your mind, but can you realistically believe that he can pick a jury, have the trial and still be hanging around, all on the dime of this law firm? The movie makes it seem like it happens in a matter of minutes, while in real life that would probably take at least days, if not months. But if that's the only problem, it's not really that bad.
Naturally, Kevin's jury wins the trial, and that in turn gets him an invitation from the firm's boss, John Milton (Al Pacino) to stick around full-time. Compared to Gainesville - portrayed as a little more backwoods than it perhaps is - the offer is a good one, and Kevin and Mary Ann decide to stay.
Before long, Kevin is wrapped up in work, and Mary Ann is decidedly unhappy with the way that things are going. At least back home, they were able to spend time together. Maybe money isn't the answer to everything. But Kevin seems happy, so she bites her tongue and tries to spend her days with the other wives. That lasts for a while, until she starts seeing really bizarre things in these women.
Kevin, meanwhile, is given his first case - the opportunity to defend a man who is accused of killing a goat in his basement. This doesn't really seem like a case that a massive corporate law firm should be taking, but he figures it's some kind of test, to see if he can handle the pressure, and sure enough he does. He's told by Milton that the guy has $15 million, so that's why they wanted to be able to handle his criminal problems as well.
After that, Kevin gets another assignment when a huge real estate developer - who seems to be loosely based on Donald Trump, if his garish apartment is any indication - is accused of killing three people. Kevin gets the call to defend him.
As the Kevin and Mary Ann spiral ever downward in their relationship with each other, the pressure mounts, until eventually Kevin's mother visits from back home, and tells Kevin what we already suspect. That the reason she is so afraid of the big city is that she did visit it once, when she was on her senior trip. And she met a waiter, who was nice to her and took her in, and she had a child from that man.
Yes, it seems that waiter has gone on to be a big-shot lawyer, so Kevin, meet your new daddy: John Milton. Oh, and by the way - he's also Satan, intent on making sure that all these criminals don't get punished for the things they do.
The Bottom Line: Al Pacino is always worth a watch, even if he is up against Keanu, who may not be the best actor in the world. The story isn't the most interesting one in the world, but luckily it's delivered by a decent array of actors, which makes it very watchable. And lest you think I give it all away, I haven't. There are still a couple of twists left at the end for those that are curious enough to give it a watch.
Rated R for sexuality, nudity, violence and language.
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