The Devil's Advocate (1997)
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A gifted young lawyer moves to New York City to work for a prestigious firm, only to discover that the firm's owner is the Devil.
The story
Kevin Lomax is a successful defense attorney in Florida who is invited to join a prestigious law firm in New York City. After moving to Manhattan with his wife, Mary Ann, Kevin begins working long hours for the firm's owner, John Milton. As the couple settles into their new life, Mary Ann begins to experience frightening visions and a deteriorating mental state. Kevin must navigate the complexities of high-stakes legal cases while trying to understand the mysterious nature of his new employer and the growing danger surrounding his wife's health.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Kevin Lomax, a Florida defense attorney, moves to New York City to work for a firm owned by John Milton. While Kevin handles high-profile cases, his wife Mary Ann suffers from terrifying visions and physical trauma. Kevin eventually learns that Milton is his father and is actually the Devil. After a series of tragic events where several characters are killed or harmed by Milton's influence, Kevin confronts Milton and realizes that his own choices—driven by a desire to win—led him into a Faustian bargain. After a final confrontation where Milton reveals he wants them to conceive the Antichrist, Kevin shoots himself. He awakens in a dream-like state in Florida, where Mary Ann is alive. He chooses to walk away from his career, only for his friend Larry to transform into Milton and mock his choice of 'vanity'.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 144
- Production countries
- United States; Germany
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Taylor Hackford
- Writers
- Jonathan Lemkin · screenplay; Tony Gilroy · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Keanu Reeves · Kevin Lomax; Al Pacino · John Milton; Charlize Theron · Mary Ann; Jeffrey Jones; Judith Ivey; Craig T. Nelson; Neal Jones · Larry
- Genres
- supernatural horror; courtroom
- Themes
- Faustian bargain; free will; moral responsibility; religious imagery
- Tone and mood
- supernatural; morality play; operatic
- Premise and plot tags
- legal thriller; supernatural horror; religious horror
- Source material / true-story basis
- Andrew Neiderman's 1990 novel
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising the entertainment value and Al Pacino's performance, while some criticized its ambitious scope.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 65% · scale: percentage · review count: 66; Metacritic · score: 60 · scale: 100 · review count: 19; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Horror Film · win
- Production trivia
- The name John Milton is an allusion to Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno, and the legend of Faust.; The film was the subject of a copyright lawsuit regarding its visual art.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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