The Lincoln Lawyer (3 Stars)

Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei in The Lincoln Lawyer

Matthew McConaughey may be the only actor in Hollywood who can swagger while sitting down.

He drawls and cracks out that toothy grin and it's lock-up-your-daughters / hide-granny's-mattress-money time. You either fall for his charm or roll your eyes at his chutzpah.

"The Lincoln Lawyer" gives this charming devil his due, a role that plays right into his wheelhouse -- a slick, smarmy, hustling lawyer whose clientele is the rough trade; hookers, pot pushers and biker gangs.

Mick Haller (McConaughey) cajoles, sweet-talks and overcharges many of those clients, doing business in and around LA out of the back of his late model Lincoln town car. But what game can Mick run when he is hired by Beverly Hills money to defend a very rich and seemingly quite dangerous young man (Ryan Phillippe)?

Like Mick's daddy always told him, "There's no client as scary as an innocent man."

Louis Roulet (Phillippe) insists on his innocence. But he's scary way beyond his protestations. Mick quickly realizes he's in over his head, playing chess with a grandmaster of a client, a hustler who may find himself out-hustled, disbarred or worse. And "worse" may involve Mick's ex-wife (Marisa Tomei) and daughter.

"Lincoln Lawyer," based on a Michael Connelly novel, is populated with a peerless supporting cast, actors who bring just the right history to their roles. There's Tomei, sexy and weary of her ex's flirty ways. But not that weary. John Leguizamo plays a shifty bail bondsman, Michael Pena scorches a couple of scenes as a client Mick let down years before, a man now doing hard time. Shea Whigham steals scenes as a lowdown jailhouse snitch. And William H. Macy is the manic, wisecracking investigator Mick calls on in a pinch.

But McConaughey is the heart of this piece, a poker player trying hard not to show his hand when the other guy's seemingly got all the cards. His offhand way with a line comes off to beautiful effect. "I don't get paid, I don't work," he drawls to the bikers who want their favorite pot grower sprung from jail. They could seriously mess Mick up, and not even his bulky bodyguard/chauffeur (Laurence Mason) could save him. Mick just waits for the envelope, gives it a little shake.

"Aren't you gonna count it?

"I jus'did."

"The Lincoln Lawyer" Movie Trailer

MPAA rating: R (for some violence, sexual content and language).

Running time: 1:59.

Cast: Matthew McConaughey (Mick Haller), Marisa Tomei (Maggie McPherson), Ryan Phillippe (Louis Roulet), William H. Macy (Frank Levin).

Credits: Directed by Brad Furman; written by John Romano, based on the novel by Michael Connelly; produced by Sidney Kimmel. A Lionsgate release.

The Lincoln Lawyer Movie Review - Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei