THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
Rated R - Running time: 2:25 - Released 10/17/97
Author's Note: This is one of the ten movie reviews
I wrote for the October 30, 1997 issue of The Republican,
the first week my reviews were ever published there. Because of
space and time requirements, these ten reviews had to be especially
brief, some even shorter than this Author's Note. Someday I will
re-view them and re-review them so as to provide a more in-depth
commentary, but for now you'll just have to live with the short
version. Sorry. --JRM
Despite a wooden performance
by Keanu Reeves, this is still a thoroughly enjoyable film for
those who enjoy an intelligent horror flick. In the tradition
of Psycho and The Shining, it is interspersed with
short, subtle images that are not always readily understandable
at first. The use of computer animation and amazing special effects
lend unsettling credibility to the many portentious hallucinations
seen by those who are meant to see them. And a stellar acting
job by Charlize Theron as Reeves's wife puts the film over the
top. Theron is truly tormented as she becomes aware of the evil
world her lawyer husband has gotten himself into. Al Pacino is
also quite intimidating, as usual, in the second film which allows
him the opportunity to say the line, "I'm just getting warmed
up!" He really means it this time. The sets and settings
are beautiful in a sinister way, and interesting cinematographic
devices like time-lapse photography give an eerie other-worldliness
to New York City. An incredible special effects sequence at the
end, coupled with multiple plot twists, elevate what could be
a silly, Beetlejuice-type movie into something much more
disturbing. ****
Copyright
1997 by John R. McEwen and The
Republican
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