"Vanity Is My Favourite Sin!"

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2004)

"The Devil's Advocate" is an excellent allegoric film about human vanity and the dangerous paths it can lead. Kevin Lomax (Reeves) is a very successful lawyer in a small rural town. At some point, he finds himself in a case defending a professor accused of child molesting, whom he realizes that he is actually guilty. Despite his hesitations, he finally accepts to keep the case, and against all odds, he wins it; this immediately prompts a job offer by a big law firm in NY. As soon as he goes there with his wife Mary-Ann (Theron) he is immediately impressed and awed by his new employer firm, and especially by its charismatic yet somehow eccentric senior partner, John Milton (Pacino). Everything is very fascinating in the beginning, as Kevin and Mary-Ann are enjoying their newly acquired riches, while Kevin is speedily climbing the ladder of fame and success. However, he quickly realizes that things are not what they appear, and Milton is much more devilish than he first seemed; too devilish, in fact...
Al Pacino gives a great performance as always, while Keanu Reeves is also very good in his role. However, Charlize Theron is the one who definitely steals the show, with her acting as confused and progessively destabilized Mary-Ann being really amazing; the scene in the psychiatric clinic especially, is one in which she shows her big talent. The direction is also very good, integrating the natural with the "paranormal" elements of the film in a very concrete and effective form.
There are many reasons to watch this great film; among them, I would mention Pacino's fantastic and well-placed quotes, such as: "The virtue of the devil is in his loins!", or "Vanity is my favourite sin!". 9/10.