The Lincoln Lawyer

Matthew McConaughey plays a sleazy lawyer, Mick Haller, who is asked to defend a young, wealthy client (Ryan Philippe) who just may be innocent. Or guilty. Normally Haller would assume the latter automatically, and ask for the money up front, but this time things just don't add up.

This is not a complicated whodunit here, and you figure out things pretty quickly, but it's a lot of fun to watch fine actors go to work. We're not necessarily talking about McConaughey, who is just fine here; we're talking about the entire supporting cast, with actors like William H. Macy as his former cop investigator (every sleazy lawyer has one), Marisa Tomei as his district attorney ex-wife, John Leguizamo as the bailbondsman who seems to live in Haller's back pocket, the fine Frances Fisher as Philippe's mother, and many more. And the plot meanders just enough to keep us entertained.

Oh, and "Lincoln" refers to the town car McConaughey is chauffered around in during daytime hours by his trusty chauffeur, Earl (Laurence Mason).

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