The Devil's Advocate

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Kevin Lomax: What are you?

John Milton: Oh, I have so many names...

The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 Thriller / Horror film starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, and based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman.

It follows the career of a lawyer, Kevin Lomax, as he gets entangled with the demonic forces that are helping him on the road to success. He ultimately faces off against the origin of this positive influence and the horrors of his own origin.

Notable for Al Pacino CREATING AN ORGY INVOLVING ALL OF NEW YORK CITY! And that's an understatement!

This movie contains examples of

• Adaptation Distillation: The novel by Andrew Neiderman is a rather uninspired cliche-ridden potboiler, which most haven't even heard of. The film has Al Pacino.
• Affably Evil: Well, that's how the Devil tends to operate anyway.
  • Evilly Affably: However, some of the demons working for him are not likable at all.
• All Just A Dream: In the final scene, it is revealed that Kevin saw the entire movie in the moment before his career-defining case about a child molester. Even though he does the right thing and refuses to win the case, Milton is still lurking around and manages to tempt him yet again.
  • Another interpretation is that Milton reverted time back to the point before Kevin's career-defining case in order to keep trying alternate pathways until he can get to the point where Kevin submits. There's also the implication that Milton will do this as many times as necessary until he wins.
• Ambition Is Evil: Played straight. Kevin's ferocious commitment to winning his court cases results in him defending some rather unsavory characters.
• Anti Anti Christ: Kevin's the Anti-AntiChrist, but his son with Christabella would be the actual The Antichrist.
• Anvilicious: Lawyers should not be Amoral Attorneys.
• Astral Checkerboard Decor.
• Awesome Ego.
• Better Living Through Evil: What makes this trope and not simply a Deal with the Devil as the title implies, is that Kevin is helped unknowingly (except maybe some gut feelings along the way) and without knowing Milton's true nature and his relation with himself. Milton says in the end speech that it is because of Kevin's accepting his dad's nature was the reason he got that far, and basically because it ran in the family.
• Big Applesauce: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great..."
• Big No: Possibly the Biggest No ever. It takes several cuts, several breaths, and causes the guy to burst into flames and then burn or desiccate anyone watching
• Brother Sister Incest: Offered, but declined.
• Break The Cutie: Poor, poor Mary Ann.
• Break the Haughty: Aaand Kevin.
• Breaking The Fourth Wall: At the end of the movie, after the reporter turns into Milton, he turns to the camera and says, "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin."
• The Cameo: Sen. Alphonse D'Amato, Ambassador Charles Gagano, and Don King all appear as themselves, and seem to be on very good terms with John Milton.
  • Makes you wonder if anyone told them...
  • Makes you wonder if they already knew and what they did for his services...
• Caught Up In The Rapture.
• Complete Monster: Satan, as well as most of his clients, and by association, Kevin's clients.
• The Corrupter: "Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings."
• Cross-Melting Aura.
• Deal With The Devil: Though Kevin is a notable aversion, all of Milton's Bastard Bastards working at his law firm have obviously accepted their role for his support.
• Deep South: The movie opens in Gainesville, Florida. Or rather, a small rural town that looks nothing like the actual, modern, skyscraper-encrusted college-town that is the real Gainesville, Florida, but does look like a one-horse hick town in the middle of nowhere, which was probably the point.
  • Apparently the producers wanted Reeves' character to be from a small rural town and picked Gainesville, Florida off of a map at random, not realizing that "small rural town" does not describe Gainesville, and hasn't for about a hundred years. The Civil War-era "courthouse" where the trial was taking place is actually in a one-stoplight town some thirty-two miles east of Gainesville, for example; the courthouses in Gainesville proper are all modern, multi-story buildings.
• Devil In Disguise: John Milton.
• Devil's Advocate: There in the title.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Mary Ann.
• Driven To Suicide: Both Kevin's wife and, later, Kevin himself. However, it's revealed to be just a dream, or possibly Satan turning back time to try another way. Or, it could be that God turned back time in order to give Kevin another chance to make the right decision.
• Dull Surprise: Keanu Reeves contrasts Al Pacino hard.
• Evil Is Cool / Evil Is Sexy: Milton is well dressed and suave (in his own creepy way), and seems to get any woman he wants.
  • Though Milton wants to invert both these tropes and suggests his son do the same. This fits a lot more with Christabella, it may be he even encourages in these tropes.
• Evil Mentor.
• Fan Disservice: Charlize Theron's nude scene also reveals that she's covered in scratches because the Devil spent the afternoon raping her.
  • Of course, it depends from which way you look at it...
  • Also the scene in the changing room, where the Devil's girls strip down to their underwear while casually making Mary-Anne as uncomfortable as possible and... AUGH! BAD FACE! BAD FACE!
  • Christabella's role in the ending is probably supposed to have this effect, all things considered, but frankly, it's hard to turn a naked, willing Connie Nielsen into a source of Squick.
    • That was very likely the point.
• Foot Focus: Kevin sucks Mary Ann's toes during a weird sequence.
• Funny Background Event: As Kevin and Milton walk through the streets of New York talking, a delivery man keeps pace behind them for several seconds carrying a box labeled "Halo Illumination."
• Fur And Loathing: Some ladies wear fur, but as they are part of the law firm (or married to those in it), they are likely evil, or under the influence of evil.
  • But the furs are real, so the film doubles with Pretty In Mink (loathing its mink, and wearing it too).
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: "For God's sake, man!" Said by a judge to a prosecutor, no less. Justified by the fact that he was under some bad mojo and coughing up a storm.
• Good Lawyers Good Clients.
• Good People Have Good Sex: It used to be at least, before the Devil put his tail in it...
• Half Human Hybrids: Many of Milton's lawyers (being his bastard children by various women from around the world) are examples of this, and Kevin himself learns that he is one, too.
• High Octane Nightmare Fuel: Good Lord, it's everywhere. Most notably when Kevin's wife goes out with the business partners' wives and finally sees that they are actually demons in disguise. And the baby playing with the ovaries. If that's not enough, there's always every single facial expression Al Pacino has in this movie.
  • The scene where Mary Anne snaps and commits suicide by slicing her throat with a piece of broken glass is simultaneously this and a Tear Jerker.
• Hollywood Law: Kevin's courtroom antics wouldn't exactly exist in reality. Some of it might be justified given the revelations at the end.
  • In the initial case with the child molester he presents some surprise evidence. This should have been presented during the pretrial discovery and would have resulted in sanctions against the defense and possibly a mistrial.
    • Perhaps not. The evidence was exculpatory, and so even if it was improperly handled or concealed during discovery it would still be allowed in (as defendants have a constitutional right to present all available exculpatory evidence). Also, defense could simply have claimed that the evidence was revealed late into the case. In fact, following this, the prosecutor did object, the judge did overrule (presumably because of the exculpatory evidence exception), and also admonished the defense to not do it again; precisely what one might expect.
  • Kevin is presented as having never lost a case. This phenomenon is seen commonly among new lawyers that haven't tried any cases, and never outside of that.
    • Justified in-story by this parentage. Apparently being the son of the Devil gives you some skill in the courtroom (cue devil/lawyer jokes here).
    • In Milton's rage-against-God speech near the end he Lampshades how impossible it is for a lawyer to have never lost a case and points out how supernatural influences were a factor.
  • Kevin would not be disbarred for his actions at the end of the movie; in fact, he would be required to withdraw in that case as his client was using his services to further a criminal act.
    • It's not so much what he did as when he did it. At that point he has no demonstrable knowledge that his client is guilty (as he and only he, presumably, saw the future in which it was revealed), and the jury had already been empaneled and the prosecution had rested. He probably would get slapped around by a disciplinary committee for that, though getting disbarred is usually a little tougher than that.
• Hollywood Voodoo: Kevin's first case with Milton's firm involves defending a man who was caught slaughtering a goat in the practice of Santeria. The actual case (and Kevin's defense of religious freedom) are completely plausible and justified. However, the client's use of a curse against the prosecutor and other hints at supernatural powers... stretches the imagination.
• Honey Trap: The Devil uses his daughter to seduce his son to make the Antichrist. A big Take That from the Devil to God, of course.
• Humanoid Abomination: It's Satan, what did you expect? Given the extent of his powers in the film, (not to mention the creepy, writhing statue in his penthouse), his depiction flirts with Eldritch Abomination as well.
• I Have Many Names: Pretty much word for word. Though Pacino plays with this a bit. No need for the fancy titles, he just wants Kevin to call him "Dad".
• I Showed Her What A Real Man Is: ...but she was only a 7.
• Important Haircut: Important, but not at all good. Mary Ann gets a haircut after prompting from Milton, and this just destabilizes her even more.
• It Was His Sled: Al Pacino's character is really the Devil? You don't say!
• Jerkass: Kevin places his career above everything else and ends up losing his wife and his personal integrity. It takes him quite some time to consult his conscience and do the right thing.
• Large Ham: "GOD!! IS AN ABSENTEE LANDLORD!!" Al Pacino would only take the part if he got to do a ten minute rant in the film's climax. [Which ended up pushing TWENTY.] Upon hearing that, the producers must have looked at each other, shrugged, and said; "Do whatever the hell you want, Al!"
  • He even Milks The Giant Cow not once, but twice during it.
• Les Yay: In the elevator.
• Look Both Ways: Though it's implied The Devil did it.
• Magnificent Bastard: John Milton.
  • This scene provides an excellent example, as he baits a Spanish-speaking passenger on the subway, potentially leading him to commit murder.
• Kevin, I Am Your Father.
• Married To The Job: Before he signs on with Milton, Kevin is heavily invested in his career and his wife is just as enthusiastic about it. Afterwards, well...not so much.
• Meaningful Name / Lou Cypher: John Milton refers to the author of Paradise Lost, the original Sympathy For The Devil poem.
• Mistaken For Cheating.
• Moving the Goalposts: The Devil rants that God does this all the time.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Mary Ann is killed as a multi-layered obstacle in Milton's plans: she can recognize demons and the general evilness of the place, as well as an obstacle in front of Christabella and could have made him a child.
• Narm: The natural result of Al Pacino's hamminess and Reeves' rather stoic acting being both put in the same movie.
  • Narm Charm: A result of the above, the mixture of hilarious and horrifying is actually a draw for some people.
  • That said, both of them tend to ham it up when Pacino gives his twenty minute scene ranting at God. It's pretty awesome.

    Kevin: GODDAMNIT, WHAT DID'YA DO TA MAH WIYFE!

    Milton: Well... On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most depraved act of sexual theater known to man, one being your average Friday night run-through at the Lomax's household, I'd say, not to be immodest, Mary Ann and I got it on at about....(cue the creepy yet funny face) seven.

• Narm Charm / Feed Me: Al Pacino's climactic meltdown is magnificent. The part where he seamlessly starts singing "It Happened In Monterey" in Sinatra's voice somehow ups both the Fanservice and Squick of the scene.
• Not Even Bothering With The Accent: Reeves starts off his performance affecting a passable Southern accent, appropriate for Lomax's Florida background. It vanishes rather quickly, though that may simply be the character deliberately hiding his accent to avoid getting mocked for it.
  • It comes back the more angry he gets by the end.
• Obvious Second Choice: Evidently the filmmakers wanted to end the film with "Sympathy For The Devil" by The Rolling Stones. It would seen they had to settle for less appropriate "Paint It Black". It doesn't work.
• Occult Law Firm: Run by Satan himself.
• Omniglot: Well, he is the Devil...
• Ominous Latin Chanting: Possibly subverted, possibly Double Subverted. Milton starts ominousing at the beginning of his son and his daughter's "consummation", only to (apparently) correctly translate it into a devil egotistical macho shit. Probably Double Subverted in that it may have been needed and only a start in some ceremony.
• On A Scale From One To Ten.
• One Winged Angel: Almost completely literal, as Milton transforms into a Fallen Angel at the climax. (His minions, too, occasionally enjoy flashing fanged grins out of their otherwise perfectly human faces.)
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Kevin Lomax's simple statement of "Free will", before launching his kamikaze ploy.
• Preacher's Daughter: Kevin's mother.
• Properly Paranoid: Kevin's mother, again. Just because you're a religious fanatic, doesn't mean the Devil isn't after you and your son.
• Rage Against The Heavens: Milton's climactic rant, and by extension, his entire existence.
• Rape Is A Special Kind Of Evil: Milton makes it into an art, and even has scales for depravity and the worst of them (he should know).
• The Reason You Suck Speech: During the climax, Kevin Lomax accuses Milton of engineering Mary-Anne's Sanity Slippage and his own corruption; Milton replies with a gleefully billious rant that shoots down every single one of Kevin's pretensions to morality:

  Milton: You're blaming me for Mary-Anne? Ooh, I hope you're kidding. Mary-Anne, you could have saved her anytime you liked; all she wanted was love, but hey, you were too busy.

  Kevin: That's a lie!

  Milton: Mary-Anne and New York? Face it, you started looking to better-deal her the minute you got here.

  Kevin: That's not true. You don't know what we had, you don't know anything about it!

  Milton: Hey, I'm on your side.

  Kevin: YOU'RE A LIAR! (He turns to leave)

  Milton: Kevin! There's nothing out there for you! Don't be such a fuckin' chump! Stop deluding yourself! (Kevin stops at the doors) I told you to take care of your wife! What did I say? "The world would understand." Didn't I say that? What did you do? (In Kevin's voice) "You know what scares me, John? I leave the case, she gets better and then I hate her for it." (In own voice) Remember?

  Kevin: I know what you did, you set me up!

  Milton: Who told you to pull out all the stops on Mr Gettys? Who made that choice?

  Kevin: It's entrapment, you set me up!

  Milton: And Moyez! The direction you took! Popes, swamis, snake handlers, all feeding at the same trough. Whose ideas were those?

  Kevin: You PLAYED ME! It was a test! Your test!

  Milton: And Cullen- knowing he was guilty, seeing those pictures- what did you do? (laughing) You put that lying bitch on the stand!

  Kevin: You brought me in. You put me there! You made her lie!

  Milton: ''I don't do that, Kevin! That day on the subway, what did I say to you? What were my words to you? Maybe it was your time to lose. You didn't think so.

  Kevin: LOSE? I DON'T LOSE! I WIN! I WIN! I'M A LAWYER! THAT'S MY JOB! THAT'S WHAT I DO!

  *beat*

  Milton: I rest my case.

• Retroactive Recognition: Tony Montana is the Devil, Neo is his son, Mary Embrey is his wife, Lucilla wants to bear Neo's child, Principal Rooney gets stomped to death by a mob of vagrants, Dr. Warner from Special Victims Unit is the wife of one of the demons, Steve Freeling is accused of killing his family and Woody Carmichael was into Santeria.
• The Reveal: "[...] for you... or your sister."
• Rock Me Asmodeus: Averted here, as this version of Satan prefers the show tunes of Frank Sinatra.
• Rule of Al Pacino (and Keanu Reeves).
• Sanity Slippage: Mary Ann starts out as much of a go-getter as her husband, but between being becalmed in their huge apartment, the shallowness of the other wives, and the evil surrounding them, she unravels completely.
• Sarcastic Confession.
• Satan: Al Pacino, and he isn't subtle about it.
• Schmuck Bait: Milton throws a lot of inversed these, coupled with Sarcastic Confessions. He keeps "suggesting" to Kevin to go back to his wife, at the cost of his wordly successes.
• Screw Destiny.
• She Knows Too Much: Poor Mary Ann.
• Simple Country Lawyer: Kevin.
• Slashed Throat: Kevin's wife does this to herself . Right in front of him. That scene is probably more disturbing than all of the previous face-morphing scenes combined.
• The Sleepless: Milton is implied to be this, in a joking reference. May not be a joke.
• Unfortunate Implications: Apparently, no lawyer with any integrity would defend a guilty client. The movie doesn't make it quite that clear-cut, but still, for all the flaws in our justice system, there are very good reasons for a presumption of innocence and it doesn't work too well if lawyers just quit in the middle of trials - the law more or less insists that all attorneys be amoral. Kevin admits that "they're gonna disbar me!"; the bar association (which is actually a branch of the Justice Department, and therefore on the same side as the friggin' judges) has no use for "a lawyer with a crisis of conscience". More on the discussion page - this is Truth In Television Fridge Horror.
  • People angst about this too much - Fundamentally, the role of defense attorneys in the US system is to ensure that the (legally presumed innocent) defendant's rights are maintained. Imagine yourself sitting in the defendant's chair. Care to describe a better system?
  • There's also the implication that Voodoo = Satanism.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Milton views his son this way at the climax, when the entire plot is foiled by Kevin's shooting himself. ("HAVEN'T I GIVEN ENOUUUUUGH?!")

& Unnecessary Makeover: Milton convinces Mary Ann that she needs to give herself a makeover. She ends up giving herself an unflattering Bob Haircut and a brown colour that adds years to her face, resulting in her looking quite unhealthy and disturbed looking though given the plot of the movie, that was probably the point.

• Voice Changeling: John Milton.
• What Could Have Been: Edward Norton was considered for the role of Kevin Lomax.
• Written By The Winner: Another jab at God.
• You Fail Biology Forever: After shooting himself in the head, Kevin can still watch, smile and generally enjoy the Milton's Villainous Breakdown.
• You Fail Geography Forever: See Deep South, below.
• You Have Failed Me: Milton does this at the end to Christabella. May be a permanent death. Implied to have done to his many failure sons that he mentions.
• You Imagined It: Mary Ann throughout the movie is told this. Reaches its climatic point where she claims to have been raped by Milton, at the same time Milton was in a courtroom full of witnesses. The twist is she sees demon faces because she sees the demon spawns of Milton, Milton did rape her and was in two places at once. Unfortunately, by the time Kevin learns the truth, it's too late.
• You Talk Too Much.