''The Lincoln Lawyer '' is a 2011 American

legal thriller The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the Criminal investigation, investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters. The courtroom ...

film adapted from the 2005 novel of the same title by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestse ...

. The film is directed by

Brad Furman Brad Furman is an American film and music video director, producer, and writer. Career Furman grew up in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, attended Friends' Central School, and went on to study at New York University (NYU) where he earned a BFA in ...

, with the screenplay written by John Romano, and stars

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

as the titular lawyer,

Mickey Haller J. Michael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAP ...

. The film also stars

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on '' The Cosby Show'' spin-off '' A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attentio ...

Josh Lucas Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including ''American Psycho'' (2000), '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), '' The Deep End'' (2001), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (200 ...

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...

, and

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

. The story is adapted from the first of several novels featuring the character of

, who works in a

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to special ...

-driven

Lincoln Town Car The Lincoln Town Car is a model line of full-size luxury sedans that was marketed by the Lincoln division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. Deriving its name from a limousine body style, Lincoln marketed the Town Car from 1981 to ...

rather than an

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

. Haller is hired to defend the son of a wealthy

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

businesswoman in an assault case. Details of the crime bring up uncomfortable parallels with a former case, and Haller discovers the two cases are intertwined. The film was released on March 18, 2011. It received generally positive reviews and grossed $87 million.

Plot

Criminal defense attorney

works in LA County, California from the back of his black

ed by Earl Briggs. He typically works for low-end criminals including Eddie Vogel, leader of a

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...

gang. His ex-wife, Maggie McPherson, with whom he shares a daughter, is a district attorney who disapproves of his choice of clientele. Haller is unexpectedly hired to represent Louis Roulet, a wealthy

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

and the son of real estate mogul Mary Windsor. Roulet is accused of brutally beating prostitute Regina Campo, and surprisingly, chose Haller specifically for the case. Haller and his investigator, Frank Levin, analyze photos and evidence and find similarities to a prior case where a prostitute was killed. Haller represented the defendant, Jesus Martinez, and due to the overwhelming evidence and in spite of Martinez's earnest proclamations of innocence, convinced him to plead guilty to avoid the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

. Haller visits Martinez, who becomes agitated when he shows him Roulet's photo. Haller realizes that Roulet is likely the killer and that he chose Haller as counsel in order to bind Haller by attorney–client confidentiality rules and keep him from talking about either case. His own hands tied, Haller tells Levin to investigate Roulet. Roulet breaks into Haller's house and nonchalantly admits to committing the murder for which Martinez was convicted. He also makes veiled threats towards Haller's daughter. Later, Levin is found shot dead after leaving him a

voicemail A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to ind ...

message claiming he found Martinez's "ticket out of jail." Haller discovers the bullet that killed Levin matches his late father's rare .22

Colt Woodsman The Colt Woodsman is a semi-automatic sporting pistol manufactured by the U.S.Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1915 to 1977. It was designed by John Moses Browning. The frame design changed over time, in three distinct series: series one being 1 ...

, which is missing from its box. Legally obliged to defend his client, Haller ruthlessly cross-examines Campo and discredits her. He also secretly sets up a known prison informant, Dwayne Jeffrey "DJ" Corliss, to testify against Roulet with information on the previous murder. Haller is able to discredit DJ's testimony, getting Roulet's current charges dismissed. However, when Roulet is set free, the police arrest him immediately for the previous murder based on DJ's description. Haller acquires a pistol from Earl for protection. Roulet's family gets him released due to lack of evidence and he goes to Maggie's home where he is confronted by Haller. Haller vows that he will not stop until Martinez is freed and Roulet is convicted for his crime; Roulet mockingly tells him he cannot guard his family all the time. The biker gang suddenly arrives and brutally beats Roulet. Maggie discovers Levin had found a parking ticket issued to Roulet near the murder victim's house, strong evidence against him. Upon arriving home, Haller discovers Roulet's mother, Mary Windsor, waiting inside. She shoots him with the Colt Woodsman, confessing that she murdered Levin. When Mary moves to shoot Haller again, he draws the pistol obtained from Earl and fatally shoots her. Martinez is released and the DA is seeking the

for Roulet. As Haller and Earl drive off, he is pulled over by Vogel and the biker gang, whose case he takes

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

in gratitude for their help.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 177 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "It doesn't offer any twists on the predictable courtroom thriller formula, but with a charming Matthew McConaughey leading its solid cast, ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' offers briskly enjoyable entertainment." At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has an average weighted score of 63 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. After watching a rough cut of the film on November 12, 2010,

, author of the book ''The Lincoln Lawyer'', said:

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' gave the film 3 stars out of a possible 4, saying, "The plotting seems like half-realized stabs in various directions made familiar by other crime stories. But for what it is, ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' is workmanlike, engagingly acted and entertaining."

Home media

The film was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and DVD on July 12, 2011. It was later released on

Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...

on August 15, 2017.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln Lawyer, The 2011 films 2011 drama films 2011 crime drama films 2011 crime thriller films 2011 thriller drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s legal drama films American courtroom films American crime thriller films American legal drama films American thriller drama films Films about dysfunctional families Films about lawyers Films about murderers Films about rape Films based on American crime novels Films directed by Brad Furman Films produced by Sidney Kimmel Films produced by Gary Lucchesi Films scored by Cliff Martinez Films set in Los Angeles Films set in San Quentin State Prison Films shot in Los Angeles Lakeshore Entertainment films Legal thriller films Lionsgate films Sidney Kimmel Entertainment films 2010s American films