The 2011 thriller drama “The Lincoln Lawyer” from Lionsgate was directed by Brad Furman with the screenplay written by John Romano based on the novel by Michael Connelly. Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillippe, Laurence Mason, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña and Trace Adkins.
There may be thousands of lawyers in Los Angeles, but Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is probably the only criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan driven by his street-wise chauffeur, Earl (Laurence Mason). Haller’s life includes a juggling act with his daughter and his estranged wife Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei) who is also an attorney, along with clients that are mostly small-time offenders whose cases never make headlines.
Struggling to get by and keep his sanity, one day he gets a tip on a potential case-of-a-lifetime from his friend Val Valenzuela (John Leguizamo); the son of a wealthy Beverly Hills family has been arrested on charges of assault and the family wants the case handled with as little exposure as possible.
Thinking that at last, his ship may have come in and he will get the credit he deserves as an attorney, Haller meets with the family of the accused playboy Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe). Of course they believe that the woman is simply a gold-digger who has fabricated the story and targeted Roulet for an early retirement fund.
After the family agrees to pay him a handsome fee, Haller manages to get Roulet released on bail and begins his investigation. But the case takes an ugly turn when the woman accuser is found dead, now with murder charges facing Roulet, Haller finds himself quickly being drawn into the dark side of the rich and famous. Was Roulet just another celebrity being targeted for his money or was he a killer who believed his family’s wealth would protect him?
Facing a personal dilemma of how to move forward, Haller turns to his friend Frank Levin (William H. Macy) for advice who confirms his suspicions. But Haller is now under increased pressure from Roulet’s family to have the charges dismissed and the constant denials of guilt from the defendant along with the evidence Haller discovers during his investigation are causing more than a little confusion in his life. As Haller inches closer to the truth of Louis Roulet’s past, he stumbles on information that could not only end his career but threaten the lives of his wife and daughter.
