Somewhat A Mess, But Oh So Intriguing

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2017)

"The Devil's Advocate" is a strange motion picture. In some ways, it is a complete and utter mess. Yet, it touches on such interesting themes and contains such great acting that it is tough to rank it as anywhere near "bad".
For a basic plot summary, "Devil's Advocate" sees hotshot lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) move from his small southern practice to the "big time" in New York with wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron). Employed by the mysterious John Milton (Al Pacino), Kevin begins to realize that his "dream job" may be a bit more complicated (and ultimately cosmic) than he could have possibly imagined.
In terms of acting, this film is top-notch through and through. Al Pacino was born to play the nefarious Milton, Reeves gives a solid performance as the conflicted lawyer, and Theron is startling as the mentally-slipping (or is she?) wife. For fans specifically of Pacino watching this film to see one of his "rants", you will not be disappointed, either.
The conflicting part of the movie, however, lies in its multitude of themes. Such topics as "God vs. Devil", "Innocence vs. Guilt", "Small-Town vs. Big City", "Ethics vs. Greed", and "Husband vs. Wife" are touched upon. Each theme in and of itself is extremely interesting and could carry the film without the others, but the problem is that they all smooshed together for two and a half hours. Just when you think the movie is about one thing...BAM, it switches to something else. While that filmmaking is admirable in terms of keeping the viewers glued to the screen, director Taylor Hackford could have done a much better job of sorting things out to produce a clean, crisp narrative, instead of one that jumps so often from theme to theme.
Overall, this was one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. The acting and plot elements are incredible, but it just tries to do too much and gets lost within itself at times. It could have been epic, but instead (because of those flaws) settles for "above average". If you are a Pacino or Reeves fan, or just like movies that will make you think, "The Devil's Advocate" is very much worth a viewing. It may not fit together perfectly, but you'll be thinking about it long after the TV is turned off.