Pacino embodies pure evil in "The Devil's Advocate"

It is hard to dispute that when it comes to acting, Al Pacino is a god, but in 1997's "The Devil's Advocate," he plays just the opposite - the devil. Pacino stars opposite Keanu Reeves in this film that appropriately picks a corporate law firm to represent pure evil. Kevin Lomax (Reeves) is a defense attorney in Gainesville, Fla., who has never lost a case, no matter how guilty his clients may have been. While winding down from a long day in court, Kevin receives a visit from a New York lawyer and is asked to come "pick a jury." Kevin and his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) are easily lured to New York, where he meets John Milton (Pacino), the head of a powerful law firm. Milton gives Kevin a job, an expensive apartment, and before long a partnership. No resistance there. It doesn't take long for all the late nights and lavish spending to come between Kevin and Mary Ann, and she starts to show signs of insanity. Kevin refuses to take time out of his work to save Mary Ann, and so the plot unfolds. Pacino gives one of the most outstanding performances of his career. "The Devil's Advocate" evokes memories of Pacino's powerful performances in the "Godfather" trilogy and "Scarface." Undoubtedly, the movie's best scene is when, after losing everything, Kevin confronts Milton and demands to know who he really is. In a monologue that makes the last 15 minutes alone worth seeing this film, Milton contradicts every value held by Christians and challenges Kevin for blaming his own downfalls on everyone else. "Free will," Milton says. "It's like butterfly wings - once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings." Milton says that he, not God, is the one on man's side. "Let me give you a little inside information about God," he says. "God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift and then what does he do? I swear, for his own amusement, he sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time." The beauty of the movie is that whether or not viewers buy the message, it is thought-provoking. No one is saying it is true that God is a prankster. "The Devil's Advocate" may be offensive to those with strong religious beliefs, but give it a chance. Take it for what it is - a movie with brilliant acting, brilliant writing and brilliant everything else. And think twice before taking a job at a prestigious New York law firm. Grade: A