if there is one thing that bothers me about hollywood films it's their predictable endings . the devil's advocate has the atypical hollywood ending , when everything that should happen does . unfortunately for the devil's advocate , this ending nearly collapses in on itself , and ruins the entire film . nevertheless , the film does provide two and a half hours of pure entertainment ( note to self : kill whomever was in charge of the previews for this film ) . i don't think i was quite prepared for this movie because the trailers made it appear to be some supernatural horror film about satan . well , it does contain this element , but what is not mentioned in the ads is the other plot elements ( and seemingly more interesting ones at that ) . the devil's advocate begins in florida with an ongoing trial in session . kevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) is the defense attorney , working for a client whom has been accused of raping a young girl . he ends up with a not-guilty verdict , despite an emotional testimony from the victim ( heather matarazzo ) . he leaves the courthouse with his lovely wife mary ann ( charlize theron ) where he is approached with an offer to travel to new york city to help choose a good jury . he accepts ( mainly after seeing the paycheck he will receive ) and he flies to new york with his wife . after proving his worth for selecting juries ( and his perfect winning streak in court ) , the head of the firm , john milton ( al pacino ) , asks him to work permanently as a criminal lawyer . he graciously accepts , where he is treated almost as a god . he is given an incredible apartment ( which is bigger than my entire house now ) , and a hefty paycheck . his life seems to be on the rise . and of course , his life suddenly begins to waver and slowly decline . he is attracted to fellow employee christabella ( connie nielson ) , and his wife begins to feel very lonely in her large apartment . mary ann takes up a friendship with a neighbor who always gives advice , especially if it is not wanted . meanwhile , kevin nabs a case surrounding alexander cullen ( craig t . nelson ) who apparently murdered three people . he spends hours upon hours with this case , while forgetting his loving wife , who may or may not be going insane . all of this while john milton may or may not be the devil himself . after a while , things turn completely upside-down , as kevin's wife claims to have seen monstrous images superimposed on her friends . a fellow employee is murdered in the park , and his mother ( judith ivey ) reveals information about kevin's real father . is it all just a big nightmare ? or is john milton really satan , playing tricks with kevin's life ? the devil's advocate plays out fairly straight-forward , but for some odd reason , the screenwriters wanted to surprise everyone by giving us something we don't expect . is this surprise conclusion supposed to make us feel good and go home without feeling depressed or disturbed ? if so , the devil's advocate messes up completely , and ironically , i felt more depressed because of the ending as is now , than i would have if it had ended ten minutes early . i went into the devil's advocate expecting a shocking horror film , and that is exactly what i got . i was settled in to be disturbed mentally and emotionally , and that is what i got . but what was the most disturbing and horrible aspect of the movie is the poor ending ( did i mention that i didn't like the ending ? ) . the producers of this film take you on a thrilling roller coaster ride and just as it is ending , they pull the rug out from under you . films like se7en and the usual suspects can survive with this surprise ending because it is expected , more or less . we know it is going to end in an unpredictable way . the devil's advocate , on the other hand , ends unpredictably , not from us knowing a lot , but knowing nothing at all . if that is confusing , i recommend watching the film , and then reading that again . as for the film overall , i enjoyed the entire first two hours , being drawn in by a terrific character study and then adding the supernatural plot to increase the tension build from the character study . the film runs like a well-built clock , slowly building until finally exploding with a highly charged climax ( and an unpredictable one at that ) . and then you settle in for a nice resolution , which does not occur . it was at this point that i felt cheated . taking us on a terror ride of intrigue , we follow kevin lomax around , as he is the centerpiece of the film . everything occurs from his perspective . he is our representation on screen ( sort of ) . but we are forced to witness a conclusion which makes most of the film seem like a game . i don't want to spoil the ending , so all i can say is go see the film and decide for yourself . perhaps the most shocking thing about the devil's advocate is the extreme amount of everything . it earned its r rating for a reason . there is plenty of nudity , sex , violence , gore , and then you have gore , violence , sex , and more nudity . this film really isn't subtle about anything , showing us everything . it actually surprises me that this film did not receive an nc-17 rating , as it is quite harsh . however , the movie does have its merits , and nudity and sex are among those . i don't condone sex and nudity in films , but if its there , i might as well enjoy it . the biggest merit of this film is also the most interesting to watch . the confrontations between kevin lomax and john milton are entertaining , but what stands out amidst this extreme hatred is the decline of the wife , mary ann . portrayed by the extremely effective charlize theron , mary ann's problems are incredibly intense , and i found myself wanting to witness her decline . this may sound uncaring , but i wanted to watch because i felt sorry for her . she is the most interesting character on the screen , who is forced into a world where she is not wanted . something the devil's advocate contained actually shocked me for reasons other than extreme violence and nudity , especially for a film of this nature . the story actually has something to say about humanity . in one of the last scenes , john milton explains to kevin lomax the game god plays with his children ( he is satan , of course ) . he comments that it is human nature to lust and loathe in vanity . then , god sets up rules which contradict human nature . this semi-religious bashing is more humorous than frightening . what milton says is so true about our society that i found myself laughing out loud , partially thinking it was funny , but patially realizing it was true . these moral dilemmas are present throughout the devil's advocate , giving it an added depth many films skip over in their writing ( but i'm sure they came straight from the novel it was based on ) . when a film has something to say about our society , it deserves to be watched . the cast of the devil's advocate is one of the highlights , as we see memorable faces , and they put spins on those memorable faces we don't expect . heather matarazzo makes a brief appearance as the terrorized victim in the opening court case , and she does a great job . probably the big surprise of this film is keanu reeves . he has proven himself an uneven actor ( successes such as speed and bombs such as johnny mnemonic ) , but he tops himself with this performance . i have never seen him more believable to date . al pacino is of course the scene stealer . his devilish performance is equal to those of jack nicholson ( the witches of eastwick ) and max von sydow ( needful things ) . he could have easily gone too far over the top in many scenes , but he remains completely believable ( if that is the correct term ) . jeffrey jones ( mostly known as the principal in ferris bueller's day off ) also gives a good performance as eddie barzoon . judith ivey manages a credible performance as the mother who holds a secret to kevin's past . connie nielson is very effective in her role , and she also appears naked several times . one familiar face with a twist was " coach " star , craig t . nelson , who gives a very good performance . the devil's advocate is rated r for sexuality , nudity , violence , language , and some gore . at 144 minutes , this film moves along fairly quickly . for the first two hours , i sat completely engaged in the good performances and strong characters . the technical quality is also remarkable , with great special effects and a good musical score . director taylor hackford has managed to create a very disturbing motion picture , only to ruin a good chunk of tension with the final fifteen minutes . i guess my biggest problem with the ending is the fact that i went into the theater expecting a disturbing film , and hackford gave me just that for a long time . but just before the end , he got jitterish and relied on the hollywood safety net in order to make his film more mainstream . personally , i would have preferred it ending fifteen minutes early .
