The Devil's Advocate

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.