The Counselor (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
OK. Here we have 'The Counselor': an enticingly weird, but grim, existential adult drama. Its director: Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, etc.). It's screenwriter: Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men). Its craft team: chock full of Oscar-winners; cinematographer, art directors, costumers, composer). Its actors: Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt. HOW can this film not be amazing? Well ... it isn't. It's not horrible. There's plenty I liked. But to say it is uneven/messy is an understatement. There are absurd eccentricities, over-the-top characterizations, bozo philosophical dialogues, grisly showdowns, & bleak conclusions.
For this film, director Ridley Scott creates a strangely beautiful environment that is littered with maniacal personalities. Cormac McCarthy's script involves the downward spiral of "The Counselor" (Michael Fassbender) a slick lawyer who lives an affluent life with his fiancee, Laura (Penelope Cruz, look out for her & Fassbender's sexy opening scene). She loves him, but is unaware that financial troubles plague her husband-to-be, & these issues have prompted him to do 2 things: 1) he invests in a night club with his wild-haired, embezzling drug lord pal, Reiner (Javier Bardem). Reiner enjoys a hard-partying lifestyle, yet struggles to keep his hard-to-please femme fatale girlfriend, Malkina (Cameron Diaz, inflecting a Barbadian accent), satisfied. And 2) he funds a drug deal with a mysterious middle man named Westray (Brad Pitt). Fassbender's counselor is nervous about descending into this scary world of drugs-and-$$ ... but he's desperate.
See, the counselor lives in a bubble (at least, initially), thinking that all the deadly ramifications of his/his cohorts actions won't affect him, personally. He knows there's danger. But he may also be too optimistic {drug cartels ARE drug cartels. You especially don't want to mess with the ruthless Mexicans}. His world really starts falling apart, however, when a miscommunication with one of his jailed clients puts him on the hit list of the Mexicans. He's ill-prepared for the fallout, & soon finds himself trying to protect his wife-to-be as well as himself from the drug cartel's vengeful wrath. The bloody results include a wonderfully-executed shootout, some grisly death scenes (mutilations, startling beheadings), & other bizarre tragedies.
When I read other reviews of this film, it seems that critics don't quite know who to blame for it being as messy as it is. Some praise Ridley Scott's panache, yet blame McCarthy's script. Some think Scott has lost his touch, and couldn't tackle McCarthy's "brilliant" script. Some blame the editing, while others praise it. Some blame various performances, while others exalt them. Me? I just happen to think that McCarthy's lyrical/tangential script counteracts with Scott's flashes of cinematic intensity -- the two don't mesh. There's also some wide-eyed wackiness going on. i.e., an erotic monologue delivered by Javier Bardem as he recalls the time Cameron Diaz's sultry Malkina has sex with the windshield of his car ... seriously. Some call that sequence unnecessary or overkill. Me? I call it hot.
For me, this film 'works' in spite of its many ludicrous ingredients. I can break down how I feel about 'The Counselor' quite simply. I liked the set-up & overall premise: letting us in on the ugly lives of these neurotic, sinful people. The acting is stellar. The film looks amazing; sleek, cool. I was interested in every single scene that passed. However, I couldn't help but feel ... disappointed ... in the end. I didn't like the "story". I didn't like the "execution" of the story that we're given. I feel like an altogether different story, yet still involving these characters & inhabiting a similar 'ramifications-of-dealing-with-drug-cartels' plot, would have changed my mind about the movie. I still found it enjoyable 'enough'. But oh, what could have been.
For this film, director Ridley Scott creates a strangely beautiful environment that is littered with maniacal personalities. Cormac McCarthy's script involves the downward spiral of "The Counselor" (Michael Fassbender) a slick lawyer who lives an affluent life with his fiancee, Laura (Penelope Cruz, look out for her & Fassbender's sexy opening scene). She loves him, but is unaware that financial troubles plague her husband-to-be, & these issues have prompted him to do 2 things: 1) he invests in a night club with his wild-haired, embezzling drug lord pal, Reiner (Javier Bardem). Reiner enjoys a hard-partying lifestyle, yet struggles to keep his hard-to-please femme fatale girlfriend, Malkina (Cameron Diaz, inflecting a Barbadian accent), satisfied. And 2) he funds a drug deal with a mysterious middle man named Westray (Brad Pitt). Fassbender's counselor is nervous about descending into this scary world of drugs-and-$$ ... but he's desperate.
See, the counselor lives in a bubble (at least, initially), thinking that all the deadly ramifications of his/his cohorts actions won't affect him, personally. He knows there's danger. But he may also be too optimistic {drug cartels ARE drug cartels. You especially don't want to mess with the ruthless Mexicans}. His world really starts falling apart, however, when a miscommunication with one of his jailed clients puts him on the hit list of the Mexicans. He's ill-prepared for the fallout, & soon finds himself trying to protect his wife-to-be as well as himself from the drug cartel's vengeful wrath. The bloody results include a wonderfully-executed shootout, some grisly death scenes (mutilations, startling beheadings), & other bizarre tragedies.
When I read other reviews of this film, it seems that critics don't quite know who to blame for it being as messy as it is. Some praise Ridley Scott's panache, yet blame McCarthy's script. Some think Scott has lost his touch, and couldn't tackle McCarthy's "brilliant" script. Some blame the editing, while others praise it. Some blame various performances, while others exalt them. Me? I just happen to think that McCarthy's lyrical/tangential script counteracts with Scott's flashes of cinematic intensity -- the two don't mesh. There's also some wide-eyed wackiness going on. i.e., an erotic monologue delivered by Javier Bardem as he recalls the time Cameron Diaz's sultry Malkina has sex with the windshield of his car ... seriously. Some call that sequence unnecessary or overkill. Me? I call it hot.
For me, this film 'works' in spite of its many ludicrous ingredients. I can break down how I feel about 'The Counselor' quite simply. I liked the set-up & overall premise: letting us in on the ugly lives of these neurotic, sinful people. The acting is stellar. The film looks amazing; sleek, cool. I was interested in every single scene that passed. However, I couldn't help but feel ... disappointed ... in the end. I didn't like the "story". I didn't like the "execution" of the story that we're given. I feel like an altogether different story, yet still involving these characters & inhabiting a similar 'ramifications-of-dealing-with-drug-cartels' plot, would have changed my mind about the movie. I still found it enjoyable 'enough'. But oh, what could have been.