I’m suddenly not sure how to feel about Ridley Scott’s upcoming thriller The Counselor. Initially, I was beyond stoked for the film; boasting No Country for Old Men author Cormac McCarthy’s first-ever screenplay and an A-list cast including Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt, it looked absolutely superb. I even listed it as one of the front-runners for next year’s Oscars in my ridiculously early awards preview.
However, with the film’s release date steadily creeping closer and infuriatingly little coming out about the film’s plot, a shred of doubt is starting to creep in. Will The Counselor be a gripping thriller on par with McCarthy’s other work, as I had previously expected, or is it destined to underwhelm, collapsing under the weight of its zany characters and sparse dialogue? I don’t have any answers, but this latest crop of pictures isn’t doing much to allay my fears.
I desperately hope my doubts about The Counselor will prove baseless – I’m looking forward to seeing what Scott and McCarthy have accomplished together perhaps more than any other film this fall. Check out some pictures and posters from the film, which still don’t give any insight into the film’s plot but do show off The Counselor‘s eclectic, hugely talented cast, below:
In The Counselor, Michael Fassbender plays a lawyer who gets in over his head with drug cartels when he sees an opportunity to make some serious money. Penelope Cruz plays his fiancee Laura, while Brad Pitt portrays the film’s main antagonist, drug kingpin Westray. Cameron Diaz and Javier Bardem both play shady underworld types as well. Those last two characters seem like the nuttiest to me – Bardem’s hairstyle speaks for itself, while previous teasers for the film have shown that Diaz has quite a fascination with cheetahs – and I’m both nervous and excited to see how McCarthy will make them believable on the big screen.
What’s your read on this movie so far? Is it going to be as good as buzz suggests, or are you as conflicted about the film as I am? Sound off in the comments section.
The Counselor opens October 25th.
