Plot
Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) is an undefeated trial lawyer in Florida who even wins seemingly hopeless cases. His secret? The ability to always pick a favourable jury. He is noticed by an international law firm hoping to retain his talent as a jury consultant for one of their cases in New York. After some initial hesitation, he is ultimately lured by flattery and a paycheck so high that he cannot refuse. Once in New York, he impresses senior board member John Milton (Al Pacino) and is offered a permanent position, including an hourly rate of 400 USD per hour and a luxurious apartment. Lomax’s wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron), is on board too, so how could he resist such an offer? Problems start to bubble up when his job requires Lomax more and more frequently to set aside his conscience. The audience wonders if his conscience will catch up with him, and if it’s only a matter of time before he is consumed by his own guilt.
Supernatural Idiom
If you play devil’s advocate in a debate, you argue against a position or express an opinion you may not agree with, merely for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the position or opinion. The Devil’s Advocate, however, interprets this idiom in a more literal way. At the climax of the film, it is revealed, or rather confirmed, that Milton is a man with many names: Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, or simply the devil. There are clues hidden as well as in plain sight throughout the film. The film is laced with religious symbolism. Characters often quote scripture, most notably Lomax’s pious mother when she compares New York to Babylon and warns her son not to give into temptations. Approximately halfway through the film, The Devil’s Advocate evolves from a legal thriller into supernatural horror without losing the legal elements. This very unique combination of genres is fairly entertaining but may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
As literal advocates for the devil, lawyers and the legal profession are portrayed in quite a negative light. Milton sees the law as “the ultimate backstage pass”, as it opens doors to almost all areas of life, making it the perfect place for the devil to reside and manipulate the world. The film cleverly and consciously plays with the cinematic trope that lawyers are amoral and would do anything to win their case. “But the movie's genuine questioning of the legal profession make it more than an extended lawyer joke.” It successfully portrays the internal conflict a lawyer may struggle with when they know that their client is guilty. It deals with conscience and what happens when that conscience is set aside as a result of vanity and greed of crooked lawyers who believe that the only wrong that they can do would lie in losing their cases.
Jury Selection
As above mentioned, Lomax has a talent for picking favourable juries. When you get called for jury duty, this does not mean that you will definitely serve on a jury. Potential jurors will first be questioned in a process known as jury selection, or voir dire in legalese, with the purpose of assessing their impartiality. If a lawyer can show the judge that a particular witness cannot be impartial in the context of the case, the lawyer can try to convince the judge to dismiss that juror. If the lawyer fails to convince the judge, or if the lawyer has an intuition about a juror that they are more likely to vote for the other side, the lawyer can also use one of their limited peremptory challenges.
In The Devil’s Advocate, Lomax is hired as a jury consultant. Jury consultants, who are more common in high profile cases, “give attorneys the criteria necessary for the ideal jury for their clients and assist in determining what biases do not fit that criteria.” They may have been lawyers themselves, as Lomax, or have a background in fields such as psychology or sociology. It’s quite ironic that a process assessing a person’s bias is often also based on stereotyping that person. In the film, for instance, Lomax deduces how a potential juror will vote based on the shoes that they are wearing and calls another candidate “damaged goods” which seems quite a stretch. There definitely is a science to picking a favourable jury, but the film focuses on the roles that intuition and superstition play.
Sanity & Mental Health
In addition to being structured around legal and ethical issues, the film features issues relating to mental health. However, the supernatural twists and gory scenes take away from the sensitivity that these issues may require. The Devil’s Advocate touches on the effects of loneliness and delves into the pain caused by grief. A woman struggling with infertility has nightmares and hallucinations, hearing the cries of a baby. A man struggling with his conscience and the consequences of his own actions suddenly sees evil all around him to deflect from his own sins. The film mentions sexual violence as well as child molestation and shows animal abuse as well as suicide. Whilst this does not distract from the film’s courtroom plotlines, and actually enhances the intricate plot of the film, these violent scenes come without a warning. Without watching a trailer beforehand, the audience is completely unprepared for what they see onscreen which can be very disturbing.
Final Thoughts
The Devil’s Advocate is an exaggerated version of the ruthless lawyer trope: not only are they evil, but they also literally work for the devil. This premise guarantees a unique cinematic experience which may only be a pleasant experience if you enjoy the horror genre. Lastly, The Devil’s Advocate can be summarised in Rosemary’s Baby meets The Firm.
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