Director: Ridley Scott.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt.
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Certificate: 18.
Synopsis: THE COUNSELLOR revolves around a respected lawyer’s one-time dalliance with an illegal business deal that spirals out of control.
THE COUNSELLOR has all the makings of the perfect movie. It boasts a stellar, ensemble cast, an A-list helmer directing a debut, original screenplay from one of today’s hottest novelists set in multiple exotic locations and containing more sex than a Gregory Dark TV movie from the nineties.
Despite the flashy posters and trailers, this is no action movie. The story revolves around a top-dollar lawyer referred to simply as ‘The Counsellor’ – played excellently by Michael Fassbender – who engages in some extracurricular activities to bag himself a bit more cash. Here, the actor reunites with his PROMETHEUS director Ridley Scott, though instead of aliens and space jockeys we get drug cartels, double crosses and a darker than usual Cameron Diaz with perhaps the greatest body tattoo the female filmic form has ever seen. It is, of course, a film with many messages; sex, drugs, greed, love, sprinkled stylishly with a little Ridley-rock-and-roll, revolving around the power that beholds the beautiful woman.
We have an amazing cast chewing up McCarthy’s dialogue with delight, standouts being the reliable husband and wife duo Penélope Cruz and crazy-haired Javier Bardem, who incidentally do not actually meet on screen. A worthy mention must also go to a scene-stealing Diaz in an against-type role, using her talents to her full advantage, and to Brad Pitt who also lends solid support and gives his best performance for quite some time.
McCarthy and Scott take us on an engaging, thought-provoking, and at times bloody, shocking and very violent journey that refuses to shy away from the inevitable. If you think what looks like it may happen won’t, believe me, it does, and often quite horribly. The deep, climactic scenes make up for the overlong, sometimes plodding first two-thirds and you’ll feel the pain as Fassbender descends into a living hell. He is simply outstanding.
THE COUNSELLOR is a film that will divide audiences. It’s a film that might just be brilliant and in many years from now be looked back on as a classic. Then again, it might not.
THE COUNSELLOR is released in UK cinemas on Friday 15th November.
