Friday, March 29, 2024

Movie Review: The Counselor is bleak and lifeless


Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Cormac McCarthy
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem

Synopsis: A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.

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DIRECTION
Ridley Scott is one hell of a director and someone I adore but The Counselor is near the bottom of the list for Scott. This film is a muddled mess with a script that leaves Scott is a terrible place to begin with. When you put Scott and Cormac McCarthy (Author of books such as The Road and No Country For Old Men) together, you’d think it would be gold. But what Scott puts out is nothing short of misery and and pain. There are some glimpses throughout the movie though that are interesting. In particular a sequence between Javier Bardem and Micheal Fassbender’s characters as they are describing a flashback with Cameron Diaz’s character and it is…well interesting. Outside of there, there’s not much to like here.

Grade: D+

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SCRIPT
I have a lot of respect for McCarthy as a book author but his first attempt for a screenplay is nothing short of a disaster. It’s incredibly bleak, lifeless and full of characters that are anything but likable. You kind of feel for Fassbender’s character a little bit, but his own choices put him in the situation. The dialogue is too intelligent for it’s own good and takes the audience right out of the film. It’s also unrealistic, sets up almost every scene in the third act and makes the characters seem unbelievable. The story is messy and expects you to assume things that go unexplained and will be confusing if you don’t pay attention to it. It’s nothing more than a situation where no one is a winner, hope is all but gone and everything is grim. McCarthy’s story isn’t unique or new, just bleak and lifeless.

Grade: D

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PERFORMANCES
Finally, something worth talking about. The performances are pretty solid for the most part. Fassbender is really good and brings a lot of emotion to the character. His character doesn’t have a ton of depth but the emotion is something that is extremely well done. Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem don’t have a ton to do expect spit out unrealistic, heavy dialogue but they do it in an engaging way. Penélope Cruz is the only innocent one in the bunch and, again, isn’t given much to do. Diaz is probably the worst one and the one you hate the most as well. She does a great job of making you want to punch her in the throat, which I give props for, but she isn’t always believable either.

Grade: B+

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SCORE
Daniel Pemberton’s score is absolutely beautiful. The sad thing though is that it’s in a movie that is forgettable and only enhances the worst features of the film. There are some scenes where Fassbender’s character is really emotional and the score is absolutely gorgeous. It’s even high-paced thriller in some of the more exciting spots. But since the film is full of despair and brokenness, the score unfortunately only enhances those elements.

Grade: A-

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FINAL THOUGHTS
There is a scene toward the end of the film where Fassbender is in tears realizing the situation he is in and the consequences he’s caused. While on the phone with a friend, who is explaining him the realities of it all, we see a scene that is actually one of the better one’s of the year. Again, like the score, it only enhances the worst parts of the film, but it’s well done and sums up the whole tone and story of The Counselor. The movie tries to be outside the box but only lives in despair and lifeless blunder.

Overall Grade: D+

JD Duran
JD Duranhttps://insessionfilm.com
InSession Film founder and owner. I love film. Love art. Love how it intersects with our real lives. My favorite movies include Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Modern Times, The Godfather and The Tree of Life. Follow me on Twitter @RealJDDuran. Follow us @InSessionFilm.

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