Lawyer Mickey Haller works in a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car rather than an office, although not enough is made of this fact. He is hired to represent a Beverly Hills playboy accused of brutally beating a prostitute.
It's an exciting, highly watchable thriller that's enhanced by McConaughey's considerable charm and charisma.
Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it’s a fast-paced wartime thriller that’s full of action. Matthew McConaughey is excellent as the man who unexpectedly finds himself as captain after his boss, played by Bill Paxton, is killed. Harvey Keitel does his usual thing (as the Chief Gunner's Mate) and has some presence. In an odd casting decision, Jon Bon Jovi portrays Lieutenant Pete Emmett, but brings nothing special to a minor role that could have been played by anyone. The other major failing is that the music is loud enough to obscure the dialogue at a couple of points.
At times you can clearly see the influence of the submarine masterpiece that is Das Boot. But where that film had long, brooding scenes that built up a claustrophobic tension, this one races from one dramatic moment to another. It does that very well, but ironically – given the subject matter – there’s a lack of depth.
Al Pacino plays a charismatic gambling addict who has built a career advising other gamblers on which way to bet on American football games. He meets Matthew McConaughey, who is so talented at selecting winners that he gets it right 80% of the time. Meanwhile, Rene Russo plays Pacino’s wife, who forms part of a complicated love triangle with the two men.
It works on lots of levels. It’s primarily a study of the relationship between the two men. But it’s also about the psychology of gambling and addiction.
The tone is peculiar. Parts of the film feel like a comedy without jokes. There’s also a homoerotic subtext, with McConaughey’s rippling, sweaty muscles often displayed in close proximity to the adoring Pacino.
I found it hugely watchable because the three main performances were so strong. It seemed initially trashy but acquired a kind of depth as it progressed.
A radio astronomer, Ellie (Jodie Foster) discovers deep-space signals of intelligent life. These turn out to include instructions on how to visit their distant system.
The slow build-up is interesting. I like the way that political and religious interests get in the way of the pure science that Ellie represents, as this seems quite “real” in terms of how people might react to this sort of news.
The “space” content of the film occupies only a few minutes of the lengthy running time. In some ways that’s disappointing, and what you actually see feels like a cop-out, but really this is a story about humans’ reactions to learning we are not alone in the universe – rather than a saga about aliens.
Foster is highly convincing in the lead role. Cameos from John Hurt and Rob Lowe don’t add a great deal, but James Woods is always enjoyable to watch. Matthew McConaughey is OK as Foster’s love interest, a Christian whose spiritual leanings meet in the middle with Foster’s scientific rationality.
Diagnosed with AIDS and wary of the standard drugs being offered, Woodroof begins to import unapproved drugs from abroad into the USA. He then distributes them via his “Dallas Buyers Club”. Along the way he makes friends with a doctor (Jennifer Garner) and a Marc Bolan-loving transvestite (Jared Leto), while beginning to re-think some of his prejudices about sexuality.
It’s a gritty and unsentimental portrait that gives you an insight into how misunderstood AIDS was in the 1980s. McConaughey is highly convincing in what must have been an especially challenging role given that he’s horribly ill for most of the film.
