Directed by multi-award winner Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator), featuring a screenplay by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road) and boasting a stellar cast of such Hollywood luminaries as Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt, this crime thriller about a lawyer who gets involved in the drug trade looked a sure-fire winner on paper.
The story follows “The Counselor” (Michael Fassbender), a lawyer who gets involved in drug trafficking to earn some quick millions before settling down to a comfortable life with his beautiful fiancée Laura (Penelope Cruz). Convinced that this will be a one-time deal, he joins up with Mexican drug dealer Reiner (Javier Bardem), an extravagant soul who enjoys a lavish lifestyle with his sneaky girlfriend Malkina (Cameron Diaz). Also involved in the deal is middleman Westray (Brad Pitt) who tries to warn The Counselor of the dangerous consequences of getting involved in this line of work. Things quickly spiral out of hand, leading to a series of life-changing events and plenty of loss and destruction.
The film plays like a Shakespearian tragedy, and despite some tension-relieving lighter moments (especially some scenes with Bardem) along the way, we all know things aren’t going to end well. Visually the film is a treat with some impressive locations presented at their best thanks to clever cinematography and intriguing camera angles.
Unfortunately, and perhaps surprisingly given the caliber of the writer involved, the film suffers as a result of its confusing plot line that seems to erratically jump from character to character with little explanation or transition.
And while the cast do a decent job, the script seems heavy and overly literary—more monologue than dialogue. Also, despite the regular appearances of ‘wise men’ making preachy statements about life and morals, the overall feeling is that the counselor’s life is messed up due to the actions of other immoral characters rather than his own greed or moral bankruptcy.
Perhaps the final nail in the coffin of The Counselor is it’s excessive use of violence which just serves to turn you off even further from the action. It just goes to show that there’s no special formula to making movies; despite gathering together some of the best people in the business, the end result falls disappointingly short of the mark.
