The titular Lincoln lawyer is smooth Mick Haller who is just as smooth as Matthew McConaughey. His sleaziness is entertaining, but his lawyering is smart and intriguing. This film has pretty much the perfect mix of a smart plot, with inventive twists, amusing one-liners, and captivating thought-out characters.
Limited action and instead using characters who have an actual story, we get a film that sets itself above its competitors. A charming, but also smart and strong, Matthew McConaughey introduces us to a lawyer who has a few inner turmoils that develop along with the plot. There may be a few too many twists in the story (and with the camera), but the evolution of McConaughey's Haller is rather subtle and not cliché.
Questions of innocence versus guilt surround Louis (Ryan Phillippe) as Haller agrees to take on his case. But as the case starts to collide with incidents of the past, present and future, similar questions of guilt and innocence start plaguing Haller, his other clients, and the other lawyers. The fact that all these other characters are played by great actors only increases the entertainment value of this film. I highly recommend taking a thoughtful ride with "The Lincoln Lawyer".
