The client (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The client |
| Original title | The Lincoln Lawyer |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2011 |
| length | 119 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 12 JMK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Brad Furman |
| script | John Romano |
| production |
Tom Rosenberg , Gary Lucchesi |
| music | Cliff Martinez |
| camera | Lukas Ettlin |
| cut | Jeff McEvoy |
| occupation | |
| |
The client (original title The Lincoln Lawyer ) is an American thriller from 2011 by director Brad Furman based on the novel of the same name by Michael Connelly . It is about a lawyer whose client assures him to be innocent in the current case, but turns out to be a true perpetrator in an earlier case of the lawyer.
action
Mick Haller is not your typical lawyer . Instead of a dignified office, the defense attorney conducts his business in the back seat of his Lincoln Town limousine. In this car, his driver chauffeurs him from courtroom to courtroom in Los Angeles , where Haller makes his living negotiating cheap deals for drug dealers , prostitutes and other clients. He moves, as is impressively shown in several scenes at the beginning of the film, skillfully in the gray area between legality and trickery, mostly in the interests of his clients, but always on the hunt for the next fat booty.
One day the divorced father of a young daughter suddenly has a supposedly much larger "fish on the line". He is supposed to defend Louis Roulet, the offspring of a wealthy Beverly Hills family who is accused of a brutal excess of violence near an attempted rape on a prostitute. What at first looks like a relatively easy task for a good fee soon turns out to be Haller's biggest and most dangerous case, which initially puts his conscience and ultimately his entire existence to the test. Because although Roulet, apart from a few tickets, has no criminal record and is apparently innocent, it quickly becomes clear to the shrewd lawyer that there could be more to the matter. Haller discovers numerous parallels to one of his earlier cases, the murder of a prostitute for which his client, Jesus Martinez, was indicted and sentenced to life imprisonment , and together with his investigator Frank Levin, he does everything possible to shed light on the matter bring. When the supposed murderer imprisoned in San Quentin recognizes Roulet in a photo and Levin is shot with a pistol stolen from Haller's apartment by Roulet, his client drops his mask when he unexpectedly ambushes Haller in his apartment.
It turns out that Roulet is actually guilty of the two serious crimes and that it was not by chance that he chose Haller as his lawyer. Because although he has exclusive knowledge of the details of both cases, according to American criminal law he is bound by his legal professional confidentiality . He cannot incriminate his own client without immediately rendering the evidence unusable. In addition, Roulet threatens Haller's family, so that Haller is forced to continue processing the current case in the full interest of his client. Haller also reacts, showing all his legal talent in court by, among other things, skillfully discrediting the main witness and finally getting the public prosecutor to drop the entire charge against roulette so that the court case has to be closed. At the same time, Haller cleverly drew the attention of the police commissioners present to Roulette's perpetration in the other case (with the help of the fictitious testimony of a surprise witness that he had secretly threaded). Roulet is then arrested in the courthouse immediately after the criminal proceedings against him have ended and Haller ends another collaboration with Roulet with immediate effect. However, he will later be released in the course of further necessary evidence investigations until a possible new start of the process.
Roulet then went to Haller and his family again. He's already waiting for him and lets another client, a friendly rocker gang, beat up roulette . Later on, Roulet's mother, who had already shot Levin, tried to kill Haller, broke into his place and shot the lawyer. As a result, Haller, already shot, manages to kill Roulet's mother in self-defense at the last moment with her own weapon. Haller ends up in the hospital with his gunshot wound . However, he will soon be able to go home and return to his usual everyday life as a lawyer.
At the end of the film, Haller is sitting in the back seat of his limousine, and when his driver announces that Haller's old client Jesus Martinez has retrospectively been released from prison and that Louis Roulet is to be sentenced to death for his proven murder , he enjoys his victory .
Cast and dubbing
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Mick Haller | Matthew McConaughey | Benjamin Völz |
| Louis Roulette | Ryan Phillippe | Benedikt Weber |
| Maggie McPherson | Marisa Tomei | Katrin Zimmermann |
| Frank Levin | William H. Macy | Joachim Tennstedt |
| Ted Minton | Josh Lucas | Tobias Kluckert |
| Valenzuela | John Leguizamo | Dennis Schmidt-Foss |
| Jesus Martinez | Michael Peña | Robin Kahnmeyer |
| Cecil Dobbs | Bob Gunton | Christian Rode |
| Mary Windsor | Frances Fisher | Rita Engelmann |
| Det. Lankford | Bryan Cranston | Stefan Staudinger |
| Eddie Vogel | Trace Adkins | Tilo Schmitz |
| Earl | Laurence Mason | Oliver Stritzel |
| Det. Sobel | Michaela Conlin | Silvia Missbach |
| Det. Kurlen | Michael Paré | Erich Rauker |
| Corliss | Shea Whigham | Michael Deffert |
| Lorna | Pell James | Irina von Bentheim |
Reviews
“McConaughey makes his former pretty boy image forgotten and lets his figure skillfully balance on the fine line between crafty and rushed. Director Brad Furman succeeds in doing something unusual: he cleverly contrasts the film noir callousness of his heroes with images of Los Angeles glaringly illuminated by the sun. 'Dark' is just a metaphor for the interior of souls and minds. And for those corners of the legal system that are not covered by judgment and punishment. "
“'The Client' is a neo-noir movie, and not just because it's set in Los Angeles. He also has one of those wonderfully complicated stories that have no meaning in themselves, but drive the images forward. […] Director Brad Furman is confident and economical with these standards. It's a modern film that has little to do with such pretty retro phenomena as' L. A. Noire ', the new video game. But good concepts last forever. "
“The opponent with whom Haller is confronted plunges him into deep conflicts of conscience. Before he played sovereignly with the law, now his opponent is playing the judicial system against him. This makes the film highly moral - and conventional. Because the self-confident, cynical hero has to go through the valley of tears until he can see light again. "
“'The Client' is neither particularly original nor is the story, based on Michael Connelly's novel, brand new - but Brad Furman, who is only delivering his second director here, has top-class cast of the film right down to the supporting roles - there is William H. Macy as a detective and Marisa Tomei, who plays Mick's ex-wife, whom he still loves, a prosecutor and otherwise his counterpart in every respect. And Furman is an excellent craftsman; The exciting thing about a thriller is not just the question of who did something, but above all how. "
“Based on a bestseller by Michael Connelly, a cleverly condensed crime and judicial drama whose careful orientation towards the precisely characterized main characters pays off in tension and entertainment. This makes the film pleasantly different from the majority of today's Hollywood productions, which focus on effects. "
Web links
- The client in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website for The Client
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for the client . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , April 2011 (PDF; test number: 127 433 K).
- ↑ Age rating for the client . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ The client. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Film criticism coolness out of self-interest
- ^ Philipp Bühler: Justice on Wheels . In: Berliner Zeitung , June 23, 2011; Movie review
- ^ Film review Mein Auto, Meine Kanzlei
- ^ Film review Law of the Road
- ↑ The client. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .