The Advocate
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Movie Reviews of The Advocate
Movie Review: What year was this??
Summary: 5 Stars
A fascinating film that reminds us just how little has changed since the middle ages. This film could have easily been set in today's America, with it's take on "values", "morality" and other buzzwords, which are as eagerly used in today's "justice" system as they were then. If judges and Christians scare you as much as they scare me, you will enjoy this film.Movie Review: THE ADOVACATE
Summary: 5 Stars
IT MEANING THE STORY WAS DECENT BUT IT WAS NOT AS GOOD AS I EXPECTEDMovie Review: A brilliantly insane and entirely overlooked film
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Advocate", written and directed by Leslie Megahey, is an underrated and overlooked film, masterful in its subtle insanity and brutally honest in its depiction of its characters and setting.The time is 15th-century France, a time when animals were subject to the same civil laws and penalties as humans and could be tried in a court of law. Parisian lawyer Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) and his clerk Mathieu (Jim Carter) arrive in a small rural province. Courtois intends to enlighten the suprstitious and backwards populous, run by an unofficial leader (Nicol Williamson). Courtois' skills are put to the test when he must defend a pig accused of murder. That the pig belongs to a roving band of gypsies only complicates matters. Mixed into the conflict is racism, accusations of witchcraft, political and religious corruption, and whispers of the Cathar heresy.
The movie is wonderfully acted, and the director is sure not to glorify or soften any of the characters. Courtois may be intelligent, but he is also arrogant. The priest (Ian Holm) may be enlightened, but he is also a womanizer. The music and costumes are more period appropriate than most medeival fair, and many themes and signs of the times are apparent: the street preacher that accosts Courtois, the secrets of the Cathar heresy, and a particularly vivid Hieronymus Bosch-inspired nightmare. While the film is ostensibly a drama, their is much bawdy, Canterbury Tales-style humor, enough to keep the film from collapsing under its own weight.
The film is finally available on DVD, and this may bring a new round of fans to it. For myself, who had only ever seen it on video, seeing it in widescreen was a wonderful thing. Be warned, however, the film has a very twisted plot, and multiple viewings may be required to sort it all out. That's not even mentioning the twist ending, a moment of deliciously black irony. Definitely a must for period film fans and certainly for anyone who loves quirky, slightly off-key dramas.
Movie Review: Hidden gem
Summary: 4 Stars
Set in medieval times, The Advocate opens with the journey of idealistic new lawyer Richard Courtois from Paris to the southern French village of Abbeville, where he hopes to make a difference in the lives of the downtrodden peasants. In no time at all, he's overwhelmed by a backlog of cases the likes of which he has never encountered. When he finds that the majority involve animals accused of such crimes as bestiality and murder, Courtois simply cannot accept the absurdity of such a practice. But his attempts to reform the local system of justice are vigorously impeded by the corruption of the gentry.
This movie has much to recommend it, from the excellence of its cast, to the scrupulously rendered settings and costumes, to the factual underpinnings of its plot. Based loosely upon the life of medieval advocate Bartholomew Chassene, it achieves a pleasant balance between subtle comedy and drama, a commentary on the readiness of the powerful to capitalize upon the fears and superstitions of their day.
(Warning to those who find nudity offensive - there is quite a bit, both male and female, although the love scenes are not excessively graphic.)
Movie Review: 15th Century Look-back
Summary: 4 Stars
This beautifully produced look-back into the 15th century and the early practice of law is not only entertaining, but a "think-piece" as one slowly realizes that the application of laws has not changed much in 600 years, nor has the level of racism and xenophobia among all classes. The excellent performance by Colin Firth as an idealistic attorney looking for a simpler life in the country pulls the viewer into the not-so-simple lives of the peasantry and the nobility of the time. Costumes, make-up and sets appear well researched and accurately presented. A treat for the eyes and the mind, and a history-lovers' dream.