The Devil's Advocate (1997)

An exceptionally adept Florida lawyer is offered a job to work in New York City for a high-end law firm with a high-end boss - the biggest opportunity of his career to date.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Andrew Neiderman (novel), Jonathan Lemkin (screenplay)

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Kevin Lomax
Al Pacino	...	John Milton
Charlize Theron	...	Mary Ann Lomax
Jeffrey Jones	...	Eddie Barzoon
Judith Ivey	...	Mrs. Alice Lomax
Connie Nielsen	...	Christabella Andreoli
Craig T. Nelson	...	Alexander Cullen
Tamara Tunie	...	Mrs. Jackie Heath
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	...	Leamon Heath
Debra Monk	...	Pam Garrety
Vyto Ruginis	...	Mitch Weaver - Justice Department
Laura Harrington	...	Melissa Black
Pamela Gray	...	Mrs. Diana Barzoon
George Wyner	...	Meisel
Chris Bauer	...	Lloyd Gettys (as Christopher Bauer)

Storyline

Devil's Advocate thematically raises the preposition that 'is winning everything' in the legal profession.Does a lawyer commits the basic sin of Vanity if he believes his job is to win, as Kevin does. Further the movie in John Milton's trenchant speech questions the very notion of righteousness in the post-modern world. Milton's speech rips apart the whole discourse of religion when he presents the inherent contradiction of it. Kevin's dilemma reflects the modern man who accuses the circumstances for being what he is,the culture dominated by making money 'which build egos of the size of cathedral', the question is can one really call what one does 'freely-willed'?. The movie deals with these 'Hamltian questions' in a lawyer's mind.

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Plot Keywords:

money | reality | jinn | supernatural power | deal with the devil | 

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Taglines:

Evil has its winning ways.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English German Italian Mandarin Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Devil's Advocate

Filming Locations:

50th Floor, Continental Tower, Continental Plaza, Wall Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$57,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,170,536 (USA) (17 October 1997)

Gross:

£5,121,101 (UK) (27 February 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Regency Enterprises, Kopelson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 136 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charlize Theron thought long and hard about appearing nude in the film, having turned down Showgirls (1995) for precisely that reason.

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Goofs

Then-NY Knicks' General Manager [Ernie Grunfeld]'s name appears incorrectly in the credits as Ernie "Grunseld."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Florida Prosecutor: Go on, Barbara.
Barbara: We go back to our homeroom for dismissal. Unless you have a pass for sports or somethin'.
Florida Prosecutor: And is that what you did on the day in question?
Barbara: No. Mr. Gettys asked me to stay after class.

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Connections

Spoofs Rosemary's Baby (1968)

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Soundtracks

It Happened in Monterey
(1930)
Music by Mabel Wayne
Lyrics by Billy Rose
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

wow

this movie received many many bad reviews, including personal opinions of friends of mine ... however, the premise, script (although thin at times) and finished product were all amazing ... keanu reeves gives an extremely surprising performance ... when it starts off he is every character he has played, not a bad character actor, but not over the top, just a regular guy... but as the story progresses his ability takes on a transformation and he really astonishes ... of course, al pacino's performance goes without saying; he is a genius in any and all of his movies ... and charlize theron is at her best as she often is in her films ... however, despite both pacino's and theron's talented performances reeves is the one to watch ... look out for the change in him ... it is completely awe-inspiring...