better than expected

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2004)

i actually enjoyed this film, though i expected it to be stupid, given the subject matter. I've become so sick of Al pacino, yet he wasn't as overbearing as hes been in more recent films. the "devils" could've been done with more special effects, but they weren't, and this was a good thing- its better to leave the "evil" defined by peoples actions and words. the locations in Florida and New York City were excellent and keanu reeves was far better than people give him credit for. his moral conflicts in the film as an ambitious defense lawyer are believable right from the beginning segment, when he realizes that the teacher hes defending against sexual abuse charges is actually guilty. as a lawyer he notices small things like hand gestures and shoes, that clue him into peoples character. i liked that detail. charlize Theron is excellent and has good chemistry with reeves (see also "Sweet November") and i can see how this was the role that convinced patty Jenkins to cast her in "Monster". as a story of how the devil can be manifested in our money greedy modern age, this is worth watching. it would make a good double feature with "The Ninth Gate".