Lincoln Lawyer

First Hit:  A wonderfully acted rendition of a Michael Connelly novel.

When a film begins it is important that the audience becomes quickly engaged in what is happening on the screen.

Lincoln Lawyer sets us up with a slightly stubbled Mick Haller (played by Matthew McConaughey) in a nice suit sitting in the back of an older black Lincoln Continental being followed by a group of bikers. Pulling over he is in his element, part street smart, part smart aleck, and overall trusted lawyer to help the biker's man in jail; for a price.

A bail bondsman named Val (played by John Leguizamo) hooks Haller up with a rich young man named Louis Roulet (played by Ryan Phillippe), who has been accused of killing a prostitute. We learn early that Haller has a history of getting people off and this reputation for getting guilty people off is why the police department doesn’t like him and his former wife, a DA, left him.

Marisa Tomei plays his former wife with which Haller shares a child and she has to excuse herself from prosecuting Roulet because Haller is his lawyer. As Haller learns more about his client he also realizes his isn’t as innocent as he claims but what pisses him off more is Roulet’s lying and manipulation.

As Haller has his investigator Frank (played by William H. Macy) find out more about Roulet, Frank is all of a sudden killed by Haller’s own antique gun. Tension builds, what will Haller do? He applies his craft and out thinks his client to make his life more right.

McConaughey is fantastic as Haller. He carries his intelligence in a suave, street savvy way. In this film you can clearly see McConaughey can act. Leguizamo is good in his small, yet critical part. Phillippe is naturally good as a slick rich boy who thinks he’s entitled to be above the rest of the people. Tomei has a small yet effective part in providing a viable backdrop of a life for Haller. Macy is wonderful as Haller’s right hand man. John Romano did an excellent job of writing a screen play from the Connelly novel. Brad Furman did an outstanding job of directing this fine cast through this well written script. He kept the film moving, crisp, and suspenseful.

Overall: A nicely done film and one worth seeing.

Stop-Loss

First Hit: This film does a fantastic job of letting the audience a glimpse of understanding regarding the unseen impact and trauma of war through characters that people can relate to.

Kimberly Pierce (the Director and writer) did her homework. This is a very strong film about the impact on our soldiers when they are “stop-lossed”.

Because the requirements for troops in Iraq is larger than the number of people available to serve and we do not have a draft (as we did in Vietnam), our government gives itself the right to break the agreement it has with our soldiers.

In breaking this agreement, the soldiers are kept from leaving the armed service and sent back to Iraq for additional war duty. The toll this takes on people is what this film is about. Ms. Pierce sets the stage effectively by opening the door slowly by beginning with important shots during the opening credits.

The audience is immediately engaged with the squad of men led by Brandon (played by Ryan Phillippe) as their different personalities are displayed while they hang out together in their billets. This scene is true to its tale; it is how men bond in the service and especially in war.

As the film unfolds Brandon leads his squad into a narrow alley in pursuit of three men who shot at them at a checkpoint. Going into the alley was a mistake and the men become trapped and are assaulted by rockets, gunfire and grenades.

Brandon loses a couple of men, his best friend is hurt and one of his guys loses an arm and leg. They come back home to their small Texas town to a hero’s celebration. After their short leave they will be processed out of the army, their contract finished. This is when they find out some of them are to be stop-lossed. Brandon cannot believe his ears. He thinks there’s been some clerical mistake.

Learning he has to go back he sees the toll on his friends and himself and so he refuses. He soon learns how difficult it is to live your beliefs and also believe the government after they broke their contract with him.

Pierce captures small town Texas perfectly; the sights, sounds, and the people. She also captures how these men attempt to just slide back into their old life and cannot, they are forever changed by the act of war. At one level they act the same as they did before they left but it is clear there is a deeper underlying level fear and hiding of what they saw, what they feel, and what they did while in Iraq. All of this is excellently captured.

Overall: This film is a very strong addition to the body of work representing our misguided flight into Iraq.