The Devil's Advocate (1997)


Keanu Reeves            Kevin Lomax
Al Pacino               John Milton
Charlize Theron         Mary Ann Lomax
Jeffrey Jones           Eddie Barzoon
Judith Ivey             Mrs Lomax
Connie Nielsen          Christabella
Craig T. Nelson         Alexander Cullen
Tamara Tunie            Jackie Heath
Ruben Santiago-Hudson   Leamon Heath
Debra Monk              Pam Gerrety
Vyto Ruginis            Weaver
Laura Harrington        Melissa Black
Pamela Gray             Diana Barzoon
George Wyner            Meisel
Chris Bauer             Gettys
Connie Embesi           Mrs Gettys

Directed by:            Taylor Hackford, Gary Davis (II)
Produced by:            Taylor Hackford, Michael Tadross, Erwin Stoff


Kevin Lomax, a top-notch Florida lawyer who specializes in jury selection, is summoned to New York City by the 
enigmatic owner of a huge law firm. After accepting a position at Milton, Chadwick, Waters, Kevin and his wife 
Mary Ann head for the Big Apple and a luxurious lifestyle. Lomax soon meets John Milton, the founding partner 
of the firm with worldwide financial and political interests. Winning soon becomes an obsession for Kevin. 
However, Mary Ann begins telling him that the other partners' wives are not what they appear, that she's having 
frightening experiences she cannot explain. When Eddie Barzoon, the firm's managing partner, dies a sudden, 
horrible death, Mary Ann's terrified perceptions pull her away from sanity. And through it all, John Milton 
keeps reminding his protege that life is rich with possibilities for those who are unafraid to sample them. But 
Lomax is stepping into Hell. And standing at the gates to welcome him is John Milton.

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Based on a book by Andrew Neiderman, the film centers on a young lawyer who joins a New York firm only to 
discover that his boss has an increasingly bizarre personality.

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Devil's Advocate thematically raises the preposition that 'is winning everything' in the legal profession.Does 
a lawyer commits the basic sin of Vanity if he believes his job is to win, as Kevin does. Further the movie in 
John Milton's trenchant speech questions the very notion of righteousness in the post-modern world. Milton's 
speech rips apart the whole discourse of religion when he presents the inherent contradiction of it. Kevin's 
dilemma reflects the modern man who accuses the circumstances for being what he is,the culture dominated by 
making money 'which build egos of the size of cathedral', the question is can one really call what one does 
'freely-willed'?. The movie deals with these 'Hamltian questions' in a lawyer's mind.

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Kevin Lomax, a ruthless young Florida attorney that never lost a case, is recruited by the most powerful law 
firm in the world. In spite of his mother's disagreement, which compares New York City to Babylon, he accepts 
the offer and the money that comes along. But soon, his wife starts feeling homesick as she witnesses devilish 
apparitions. However, Kevin is sinking in his new cases and pays less and less attention to his wife. His boss 
and mentor, John Milton, seems to always know how to overcome every problem and that just freaks Kevin right off.