The Devil's Advocate
1997 · Directed by Taylor Hackford
Original language: English
- horror
- drama
- mystery
The story
Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.
What it’s like
Glossy late-nineties studio polish: saturated jewel-toned interiors, deep shadow, and a Manhattan that looks like a gilded trap, all wide establishing shots, slow tracking moves through marble lobbies, and a restless camera that tilts and dollies when Kevin's grip on reality starts to slip. Visions and hallucinations arrive as sharp, unsettling flashes, backed by a brooding orchestral score with choral swells that turn ominous. Vibe: slick, seductive dread with a sweaty, feverish edge, the kind of thing to watch late at night with the lights low when you want to feel the pull of ambition curdling into something worse. The Southern prologue brings a stifling, humid darkness, and the film returns again and again to a troubled marriage and a childhood wound. Pacing is brisk and escalating, building toward an operatic, dread-heavy finale. Intensity is moderate: some graphic violence, disturbing imagery and implied abuse, and sexual content with nudity, but little gore. Best for viewers who like sinister legal thrillers, Faustian temptation, and atmospheric horror.
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