‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ review: Well-executed classic tropes carry Netflix legal drama
The Hindu
Based on the novel ‘The Brass Verdict’ by Michael Connelly, the ten-part series is a solid addition to the long list of engrossing courtroom dramas
Legal dramas never go out of style. There’s something engaging about a courtroom drama, the fancy lives of hotshot lawyers, and the cat-and-mouse chase for the truth which makes this genre a fan favourite. The Lincoln Lawyer is a solid addition to the long list of well-executed projects in the genre.
In Netflix’s latest, we meet Mickey Haller, a defence attorney who has been out of the game for a year due to a surfing accident that left him addicted to pills. A strange turn of events gives him a second chance at the profession that he is the best at, a remark which he and others repeatedly make during the course of the show.
Haller, played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, is handed over the business of another attorney who has just been shot dead. These cases, especially the high-profile murder trial of a tech CEO’s wife and her lover, are the last chance for Haller to get his life and practice back on track.
And thus, with his second ex-wife cum legal aide, Lorna Taylor, and her boyfriend Cisco — who is also Haller’s private investigator — the Lincoln Lawyer undertakes one of the most important cases of his career.
Haller has a panache for leaving his office environment to be on the road, chauffeured around in his Lincoln cars, where he says he is able to think better.
The ten-part series is based on the book The Brass Verdict written by Michael Connelly; incidentally, one of his earlier novels based on Haller’s character has already been adapted into a 2011 film of the same name, starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Bryan Cranston, and others.
In recreating Connelly’s storyline for a TV audience, creators Ted Humphrey and David E. Kelley rely heavily on fast-paced action, suspenseful storytelling, and of course, obligatory cliff-hangers at the end of every episode.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.