The Mandate

15 years ago, Matthew McConaughey wowed audiences as a young lawyer with big ideals in the suspenseful judicial thriller The Jury. In 2011, McConaughey now returns to the genre, but in The Mandate he embodies a criminal defense attorney who seems to be the exact opposite of the character in the 1996 John Grisham film adaptation.

For Mick Haller is anything but a conventional lawyer. He conducts his business from his car, an old Lincoln Continental, and often has unexpected success due to his one hand washes the other mentality. His clients are mostly small-time crooks, prostitutes and drug dealers. But one day Mick gets an extremely lucrative offer, far above the level of his usual cases: to defend Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), son of wealthy and influential family. Louis is accused of rape and attempted murder. The circumstantial evidence points to the young man's innocence and the fat fee makes Mick throw all doubts overboard. But just when he thinks he can walk away victorious once again, the tide turns and all of a sudden this client turns out to be his most difficult and dangerous case ever.

Brad Furman has directed The Client, an old-fashioned judicial thriller in the best sense of the word. Therefore, if you know a little about the genre, you won't really be surprised by the story itself. Especially since the actual resolution is revealed quite quickly. But that's not a big deal and doesn't really have a negative impact on the film's entertainment value. On the contrary: within the familiar setting the cleverness of the script and the class of the production can fully unfold. The point here is not to be misled by constant twists and turns. Rather, the good actors and the dense staging should provide suspense and entertainment. And this is undoubtedly successful.

The cat-and-mouse game, to which The Client mutates at the end, does not really reach the class of the in this respect comparable Twilight with Richard Gere. But thanks to the very good acting especially by Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe it's just fun to follow the story and watch Mick in his desperate fight for justice. However, those hoping for fast-paced action sequences will be rather disappointed. Long dialogues, quiet moments and discreetly used tension dominate here. When things do get more fast-paced, however, it works all the better.

Great actors, a good script and excellent staging make Der Mandant seem fresh and unspent, despite its rather old-fashioned flair and not really new story. If you're looking for a thriller of the entertaining kind and no-frills entertainment, you should definitely sit down with Mick Haller in his Lincoln. Because there, suspense, wit and cleverness are guaranteed. Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp