The Devil's Advocate

"The newest attorney at the world's most powerful law firm has never lost a case. But he's about to lose his soul."

1997 2h 24m EN

👍

7.5

SOLID

🍅

65%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 7,089🍅65%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 440,249

HorrorDramaMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.

“The newest attorney at the world's most powerful law firm has never lost a case. But he's about to lose his soul.”

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Cast

Keanu Reeves
Kevin Lomax
Al Pacino
John Milton
Charlize Theron
Mary Ann Lomax
Jeffrey Jones
Eddie Barzoon
Judith Ivey
Mrs. Lomax
Connie Nielsen
Christabella
Craig T. Nelson
Alexander Cullen
Tamara Tunie
Jackie Heath

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Taylor Hackford
Writers: Jonathan Lemkin, Tony Gilroy, Jim Magdaleno
Languages: Cantonese, German, Italian, French, English, Spanish
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $57M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: Cantonese, German, Italian, French, English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

216+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Taylor Hackford, shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mark Warner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Taylor Hackford directs. Andrzej Bartkowiak behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Mark Warner cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in Cantonese, German, Italian, French, English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $57M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 6 languages: Cantonese, German, Italian, French, English, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
5216+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Taylor Hackford, shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Mark Warner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino and Charlize Theron carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The newest attorney at the world's most powerful law firm has never lost a case. But he's about to lose his soul.".
11IMDB entry: tt0118971 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 25 themes, including "child abuse", "southern usa", "marriage crisis", "obsession".
13Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Mark Warner
Production design: Bruno Rubeo
Costume design: Judianna Makovsky
Makeup / hair: Aldo Signoretti
VFX supervisor: Rob Hodgson
Sound: Per Hallberg
Stunt coordinator: Gary Davis
Runtime: 144 min · 2h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $57,000,000
Box office: $153,000,000
Return: 268% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 60/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 440,249 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 7 nominations total

Also by

Taylor Hackford

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522020-09-19
★ 7/10
Apparently I saw this before (had a rating on my computer program) but didn't really remember much of it. A bit uneven between a serious drama with supernatural fantasy, but I had fun with these performances by Reeves and Pacino (forgot how normal he once looked) and never a bad thing with Charlize Theron and Connie Nielsen being there for the obvious reasons. Not great and could've cut some of the running time but still found it somewhat entertaining. 3.5/5
GenerationofSwine2023-01-14
★ 10/10
OK, full disclosure, I have a thing for Al Pacino. I'll watch just about anything he's in and...if he screams and yells a monologue in it, if he delivers a diatribe of rage....yeah I get flashbacks to him screaming: "I'd take a flame thrower to this place" and roll my eyes back like a shark in a feeding frenzy. Oh, yeah, almost forgot, Keanu is in this one too...but for a good slice of the film he doesn't play the most savory of characters and, really, honestly, he just seems too nice to play a lawyer... ...but despite that he does a pretty good job of exhibiting the ego that has to come with the law profession...just not the vile evilness. So, I can't totally fault him for miscast as I could for Dracula. Jeffery Jones is in there too and due to recent revelations he totally fits the sleazy lawyer role. But yeah, 1997, the 90s had a way with films that was only really beaten by the 70s and The Devil's Advocate is one of those films that could really only be made in those two decades. Stand alone horror not intended as a franchise piece and one with a twist that asks you to think a little. No way that would be made today and that is a shame. I could tout its glory, but really, honestly, the movie could have stank and I wouldn't care thanks to Pacino screaming "I'm a fan of man!" It's worth the watch.
CinemaSerf2023-05-15
★ 7/10
If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is... That's what "Kevin" (Keanu Reeves) must learn to appreciate after he is offered a dream job at a prestigious New York legal firm by "Milton" (Al Pacino). The potential wealth and the status of his new career path bring out the green-eyed monster in him and together with his reluctant wife "Mary-Ann" (Charlize Theron) they are soon living it up in their penthouse apartment with plenty of money but an increasingly dwindling amount of time together. She starts to cool on their arrangement and wants to return to Florida but pretty soon it's clear that "Kevin" is addicted - and not to her! Pacino is on good form here as it becomes clear just who his character is, and how adeptly he is pulling all the strings and manoeuvring his new charge into a position that might suggest that the clue is in the title! Now as a life-long lover of the baddie in films, I felt a bit let down by the ending. Faust it isn't - but, to be fair, it still goes as close as Hollywood will probably ever go in portraying a characterisation of the epitome of evil (and offering a wonderful critique on vanity being the downfall of mankind) that actually has a fighting chance of prevailing! Reeves is not the finest actor to grace our screens. Easy on the eye, certainly, but somehow he's just a bit too lightweight here. That might be because, however, Pacino is very much in his element and even though it can drag at times during the almost 2½ hour running time, it's a remarkably compelling ride that still holds up quite well.