The Lincoln Lawyer

A slick high-powered attorney (Matthew McConaughey) tools around Los Angeles in his Lincoln Town Car wheeling and dealing on behalf of his mostly guilty clients. His latest case, though, smells like trouble from the start—a rich boy (Ryan Phillippe) who swears he’s innocent of beating up a hooker—and soon our hero finds himself blindsided into more trouble than he expected, taxing his resources to the max. Writer John Romano and director Brad Furman turn Michael Connelly’s best-selling novel into a movie as smooth and slick as its protagonist, a riveting, suspenseful story populated by a sharply drawn cast of characters as fascinating as Raymond Chandler at his best. McConaughey, liberated at last from lamebrain rom-coms, gives his best performance in years, matched by Marisa Tomei as his district attorney ex-wife.