Not a legal thriller, but a morality tale *spoilers*

Rating: Null/10 (14 September 2003)

Taylor Hackford directs this big budget morality tale with the sure hand of a storyteller. Keanue Reeves is a much better actor than people give him credit for. If you watch most of his performances carefully, he is creating spaces for the other actors to work in. That is a sure sign of talent. It's a shame most people are quick to jump on the "I hate Keanu" bandwagon, perhaps it is jealousy. Anyway, Keanu plays a hotshot Florida lawyer who never loses a defense case - as it turns out, there was a hole in the wall between the mens room and the jury deliberation room. That means he knew he was getting his clients, who we can only assume to be guilty-as-heck dirtbags if we are to go by the films opening sequence, off on charges he knew they were guilty for. That makes him the titled "Devils Advocate" because advocate literally means "to plead in favor of". He was pleading in favor of men he knew were evil, in essence, this makes him evil too. The entire film is revealed to be a morality struggle going on inside the head of his character... can he look himself in the mirror when he knows deep inside of himself the consequences of what he is about to do? Kudos to the production team and cast and crew for making a highly entertaining morality tale.