If you’re looking for a great courtroom drama to watch, you could do a lot worse than The Lincoln Lawyer. And if for some reason you missed it back when it hit theaters in 2011, it debuted on Netflix on May 27th and is now available for your viewing pleasure.
This film was really the beginning of Matthew McConaughey’s resurgence as an A-list star. Dubbed the McConaissance, it began with The Lincoln Lawyer in 2011 and following that was Magic Mike, his Oscar-winning performance in Dallas Buyers Club and a memorable cameo in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Not to mention the one-two punch in 2014 of True Detective and Interstellar.
But it really began with this little courtroom thriller. Despite a March release, the film earned great reviews (84% on Rotten Tomatoes) and pulled in $87 million at the box office. Not bad considering McConaughey was coming off of a string of forgettable rom-coms and action flicks. It features an incredible cast, too, including Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, Josh Lucas, William H. Macy, Michael Pena, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston and country singer Trace Adkins.
Based on a series of novels, McConaughey plays Mick Haller, a colorful defense attorney whose office is the backseat of a Lincoln Continental sedan. Haller typically defends seedy lowlifes in Los Angeles. But when a rich Beverly Hills playboy lands in jail for murder, he sees it as a dream case. However, Haller soon discovers that there’s a lot more to the young man’s story.
Matthew McConaughey is at peak charisma in The Lincoln Lawyer. But he’s also battling demons throughout including insecurity about his stalled career, the end of his marriage and a bit of alcoholism. It may not be his finest film, but if you’re in the mood for a fun, movie-of-the-week type courtroom procedural, be sure to give it a watch on Netflix.
