Enjoyably silly and over-the-top legal thriller

Rating: Null/10 (20 July 2003)

Kevin Lomax is on a record run of unbeaten cases  previously as a prosecutor and now a defender. When he manages to get a man accused of child abuse judged innocent (despite being guilty), he is heat hunted by a big New York law firm and is enticed up to try out. He joins the firm and begins to amass success, meanwhile however his wife is slowly losing her grip on reality and his boss, John Milton, appears to have every excess known to man as part of his lifestyle.
I'm sure it is meant to be a twist and I should write `spoiler' on my subject line, but if anyone doesn't know that the head of the law firm is Satan then I'm sorry for spoiling it for you here. The title may have given you a clue and the name `Milton' might have been a little hint, but apologies! It is no surprise that he is the devil as this is the point of the film. The plot is a little OTT but enjoyably so, playing up excesses in all areas and making gleeful swipes at the material rich of the Western world (I assume the director lives in a modest house in a rough area?). The film still carries an air of legal thriller to it that is good and it is only really let down by an overly twisty end and an overlong epilogue.
What makes the film work so very well is the performances. The cast is deep in well known faces, but it is Pacino's film all the way. His flamboyant overacting is perfect here and he is totally engrossing all the way  peaking in his final rant at God, the `absentee landlord', the `sadist'. The film wisely never goes too long without him as he is the key  the subplots involving Marie-Anne are still good but not as enjoyable as the title character. Reeves is good but never totally convinced me that he was as brilliant a legal mind as the script suggests. Theron is good and undergoes a believable transformation during the film. Support is good from Jones, Lindo, and Ivey but it is never anyone else's film but Pacino, who revels in the chance to overplay and ham it up.
Overall this is not a great film  it is too obvious (think Angel Heart) and is OTT in all aspects of delivery. However it is an enjoyably hammy film that is driven from it's heart by a perfectly over the top performance from Pacino.