The Devil's Advocate (film)
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| The Devil's Advocate | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Taylor Hackford |
| Produced by | Anne Kopelson Arnold Kopelson Arnon Milchan |
| Written by | Andrew Neiderman Jonathan Lemkin Tony Gilroy |
| Starring | Keanu Reeves Al Pacino Charlize Theron |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Editing by | Mark Warner |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 17, 1997 |
| Running time | 143 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $57,000,000 estimated. |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 American thriller/horror film directed by Taylor Hackford starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, and based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman.
The film's title is a reference to the common phrase "devil's advocate", and Pacino's character is named after the author of Paradise Lost, John Milton. The movie has some minor allusions to Milton's epic. For example, the famous quotation "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven", and the concentric fiery circles of Hell as described in Dante's Inferno are included at the end of the movie.
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[edit] Plot summary
Defense attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) is defending a schoolteacher, Mr. Gettys (Chris Bauer), against a charge of child molestation in the small town of Gainesville, Florida. During the trial, Kevin believes his client is guilty. During a recess, a reporter speaks to Kevin briefly in the restroom and tells Kevin that "nobody wins 'em all." Kevin still decides to go forward and wins the case after a harsh cross-examination of the young witness (Heather Matarazzo) that destroys her credibility.
At a celebration after the conclusion of the trial, Kevin is approached by a representative of the law firm of Milton, Chadwick & Waters, who offers him a large sum of money to help the firm with a trial. Kevin accepts the offer and he and his wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron), depart for New York. After successfully performing the task, and because of his good track record of having never lost a case, he is made an offer by John Milton (Al Pacino) to join the firm, for a large salary and a swank apartment. Kevin accepts.
Kevin's first trial is defending a man who ritualistically sacrifices an animal. He soon wins this case, citing Kashrut laws and claiming that the defendant was exercising his rights to freedom of religion. During the trial however, Kevin has begun to spend much time at work and less time with Mary Ann. She feels out of place and abandoned.
Kevin's next assignment is defending Alexander Cullen (Craig T. Nelson) in a high-profile murder trial. This trial is even more demanding of Kevin's time, making him separate more from Mary Ann. He is also having oddly realistic fantasies about Christabella Andreoli (Connie Nielsen), a beautiful co-worker. The alienation between Kevin and Mary Ann is further compounded when Milton tempts Kevin with various vices. Mary Ann starts to show signs of a serious mental illness. Milton suggests that Kevin step down from the trial to look after his wife, saying that "the world would understand", but Kevin decides to go forward.
Eddie Barzoon (Jeffrey Jones), a managing attorney, thinks that Kevin is competing for his job after finding Kevin's name in the company papers as a partner. Kevin states that he does not know anything about that but Eddie is not mollified and leaves Kevin while threatening to tell a certain person named Weaver about things. Kevin goes to Milton and tells him about what Eddie has said. While jogging in Central Park, Eddie is beaten to death by two vagrants, who take on demonic appearances during the murder. Mary Ann sees this from her apartment window, causing her mental health to become even worse.
While preparing Cullen's assistant, Melissa Black (Laura Harrington) for a testimony, Kevin finds that she is lying. Kevin tells Milton he belives Cullen is guilty. Milton again offers Kevin to step down from the trial, saying that he will back him on any decision. Again Kevin decides to proceed and wins the case.
Upon returning home from the trial Kevin finds Mary Ann in a nearby church. She claims she was raped and maimed by Milton. However, as Kevin had seen Milton in court with him at the time of the alleged attack, he believes Mary Ann has done the damage to herself and has her committed to a mental institution.
Kevin is approached by a man presenting himself as Mitch Weaver. Weaver is an investigator for the Justice Department with insight into shady involvements of the law firm. Kevin doesn't want to listen and tries to walk away, stopping only when Weaver tells him that his former client, Mr. Gettys, was found with the dead body of a young girl. Weaver, however, thinking he has gotten Kevin to listen, walks out in the street, is hit by a car and is killed instantly.
Kevin, Kevin's Mother (Judith Ivey) and Pam (Debra Monk), Kevin's coworker at the firm, go to visit Mary Ann in the hospital. While being left alone with Mary Ann, Pam appears as a demon to Mary Ann through a mirror. Mary Ann goes into a panic, locks herself into the room and commits suicide, while Kevin makes an attempt to stop her. After this Kevin learns from his mother that Milton is his father. He leaves the hospital to confront Milton.
Kevin finds Milton in his apartment and Milton admits to having raped Mary Ann. Kevin furiously shoots at Milton with a gun, but the bullets do no damage. Kevin learns that Milton is not only his father, but also Satan. Kevin blames Milton for everything that happened, but comes to realize it was all his own doing. Kevin finally relents and agrees with Milton, acknowledging that he wanted to win, no matter what, and left Mary Ann behind.
Milton reveals his goal of wanting to beat God and also dismisses the Biblical prophecy saying he's going to lose. He then explains that he wants Kevin and Christabella, now revealed to be Kevin's half-sister, to conceive a child: the Antichrist. Kevin recognizes that this is something he must do out of free will and negotiates with Milton, who offers Kevin anything that he wants. However, Kevin rejects his Satanic heritage and, citing free will, he commits suicide, ending Milton's plans.
We find Kevin in the past, at the recess of the Gettys trial. Upon returning to the trial, Kevin this time announces that he can no longer represent his client, despite the possibility of being disbarred.
The reporter follows Kevin and Mary Ann leaving the courthouse, offering to interview Kevin about his decision, saying it will make him a star. After some prodding from Mary Ann, Kevin accepts the offer. After Kevin and Mary Ann exit the courthouse, the reporter transforms into Milton and says, "Vanity... definitely my favorite sin".
[edit] Reception
[edit] Box Office Performance
The Devil's Advocate earned $12,170,536 during its opening weekend in the United States. [1]
- Domestic Total Gross $60,944,660
- Foreign Total Gross: $92,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $152,944,660 [2]
[edit] Notable locations
- Alexander Cullen's 5th Avenue Penthouse is a room in Trump Tower, belonging to Donald Trump in real life.
- When Milton and Kevin walk out to the firm's office water rooftop, the building that is seen across is 60 Wall Street (Deutsche Bank).
- The law firm's headquarters is seen to be located in the building of 180 Maiden Lane, currently home to Goldman Sachs.
[edit] Legal problems
The film was the subject of legal action following its release. The claim was that the sculpture featuring human forms in John Milton's apartment closely resembled the Ex Nihilo sculpture by Frederick Hart on the facade of the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. [3]
A settlement was reached where the sculpture would be altered in all future releases of the film. Prior to that, the studio had placed disclaimer stickers on their unaltered DVD/VHS material. The altering removed the human forms from the sculpture during shots in which a large part of the sculpture can be seen so that it would not resemble the Ex Nihilo. This is most notable at the wide shot when Kevin first enters Milton's apartment. During the digital animation sequences of the sculpture at the end of the film, the human forms are present in both the altered and unaltered versions.
[edit] Cast
- Keanu Reeves as Kevin Lomax
- Al Pacino as John Milton
- Charlize Theron as Mary Ann Lomax
- Jeffrey Jones as Eddie Barzoon
- Judith Ivey as Alice Lomax
- Connie Nielsen as Christabella Andreoli
- Craig T. Nelson as Alexander Cullen
- Tamara Tunie as Mrs. Jackie Heath
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Leamon Heath
- Debra Monk as Pam Garrety
- Vyto Ruginis as Mitch Weaver, Justice Dept.
- Laura Harrington as Mrs. Melissa Black
- Pamela Gray as Mrs. Diana Barzoon
- Heather Matarazzo as Barbara
- George Wyner as Meisel
- Delroy Lindo as Phillipe Moyez
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Devil's Advocate at the Internet Movie Database
- The Devil's Advocate at Rotten Tomatoes
- Official web site
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