At the Theater - "The Counselor" - This cautionary/morality tale from Director Ridley Scott concerning a desperate Lawyer (Michael Fassbender) who gets in over his head with some very bad people is beautiful to look at and filled with attractive stars, but pretentious as all get out and ultimately pointless. A couple of monologues concerning death, sin, choices, reality, sex, etc., go on for so damned long that I couldn't help but tune out- 80 year old novelist Cormac McCarthy's first screenplay tries to pass off lengthy prose as profound dialogue (only about a quarter of what was spoken was necessary) and it grows tiresome rather quickly. The impressive cast is solid all across the board, but an audience isn't really given much of a reason to care about any of them. The experience as a whole is a disappointment in relation to the amount of talent involved and a prime example of style over substance.
Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) headlines as the Attorney everyone refers to as "Counselor" (I can't remember ever hearing his actual name) who's madly in love with his sweet and sexy new fiance, "Laura" (Penelope Cruz, looking prettier than ever). For whatever reason, perhaps just good-old-fashioned living beyond one's means, Counselor finds himself eager to throw his chips into the high-stakes gamble of the drug trade, aiming to exponentially increase his returns. Some may feel sorry for his character by film's end- although Fassbender is a highly talented actor who shines in a late film breakdown, I felt like there wasn't enough back story or exposition to fully set up his character and subsequent motivations. Once things turn sour, his character is given remarkably little to do.
Javier Bardem (Skyfall) steals the show as The Counselor's connection, the flashy drug trafficker and nightclub proprietor, "Reiner". This the the only character I even remotely had any interest in, with Bardem transcending the script's material to create a charismatic character. Sadly, his role is more of a supportive one and his screen time is limited.
Cameron Diaz (Gangs Of New York) slithers in and out of the film as Reiner's love interest, the conniving femme fatale "Malkina". Her fascination with big cats is quite evident by her ownership of two tamed cheetahs and a body length tattoo of leopard spots running from the back of her neck down her leg. Perhaps if her true nature and motives (yes, this gripe is a repetitive one) had been handled better or presented in a niftier way, I may have bought into her cold, calculated performance a bit more. Ultimately, I just didn't feel she was right for the part.
Brad Pitt (Moneyball) has a few scenes as the slick, faux cowboy and middleman "Westray". Pitt is fine here, though most will probably remember his character's send off more than anything. There's a host of other cameo-like appearances, though most of them are introduced in the film's third act and don't really add up to much. Some may have fun with so many notable faces sprinkled about. Things don't end well for many of these poor souls, with at least one of them suffering a fate worse than death...
I do feel I have to point to a specific scene in which Ruben Blades (Predator 2), as a cartel head, rattles off one of the most unnecessarily lengthy and preachy monologues I can remember in screen history. There are a number of these monologues sprinkled about and some of them admittedly work fairly well- but the aforementioned was the most maddeningly distracting. Terrence Malick fans (of which I am not) will probably go apeshit...
Those who choose to watch this will probably remember Diaz making love to a Ferrari (the scene garners the film's only laugh), Javier Bardem's wild hair, a highway shootout turned hijacking and the gruesome demise (involving a mechanized garrote) of one of the principal players- I was expecting the scene but found it rather horrific nonetheless. Another segment involving a high tension wire strung across an El Paso highway (apparently for hours) meant to kill one particular victim on a motorcycle is mind bogglingly contrived and utterly ridiculous- apparently traffic was extremely light that day. It's fairly obvious that screenwriter Cormac McCarthy (a novelist whose works I must confess my disdain for) has traded in his childlike fascination with the pneumatic cattle stunner he showcased in 2007's highly overrated No Country For Old Men for the usage of high tension wire as a killing tool here. He's found a way to work it into this film's script on a few occasions, to hell with the consequences... and reasoning.
Lastly, why would U.S. customs allow sewage coming across the border from Mexico to be transported all the way to Chicago? I guess there's a political joke in there somewhere, though this has got to be one of the dumbest (and most conspicuous) ways to transport drugs (and corpses) into the country that I've ever seen.
As with all of Director Ridley Scott's films, The Counselor is gloriously shot (with cinematography courtesy of Dariusz Wolski) and often a treat to look at. The vast majority of the remainder of the film's execution, however, is a patchwork of familiar retread pulled from better movies intermingled with a few poor ideas and a host of underdeveloped characters. I felt Ridley Scott's last film, 2012's Sci Fi/Adventure film Prometheus, was a misfire riddled with similar problems- hopefully this followup doesn't signal the downward slide of his illustrious career. I've loved many of the accomplished auteur's efforts, with Alien, Blade Runner, Black Rain, Gladiator, Body Of Lies, Robin Hood and Black Hawk Down being my favorites from him.
The Counselor doesn't belong with the worst films of the year, but it's definitely amongst the most unsatisfying. It may prove a worthwhile rental for those interested.
6.0 out of 10
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt, Natalie Dormer, Dean Norris, John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Edgar Ramirez, Richard Brake, Toby Kebbell, Goran Visnjic, Bruno Ganz, Sam Spruell and Ruben Blades
Running Time: 117 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated R for graphic violence, some grisly images, strong sexual content and language
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