'The Lincoln Lawyer' is an American crime drama film adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Connelly . Marisa Tomei an American stage, film and television actress, plays the role of criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller’s ( Matthew McConaughey ) ex-wife, prosecutor Maggie McPherson, who has never appreciated Haller’s efforts on behalf of guilty criminals when he ought to be trying to put them behind bars. Marisa gets talking about the unusual theme of the movie, her experiences and more.
Lincoln Lawyer seems like quite an unusual film, what do you feel?
I think so too. I think there’s something uplifting about it, even just in terms of what we’ve been swamped within the cinematic marketplace – you know, the sequels and 3D films. There’s an aspect of it being refreshing cinema in that way. And, of course, it is a throwback to some of the films that I really loved growing up. It’s really a gritty, dramatic, character based, character driven story.
How was the experience of working with Brad Furman?
After I met with Brad, I had some thoughts and he asked me to write them down. I sent a rather long e-mail about few scenes and where we can incorporate more humour. Brad ran through it with the producer and writer and they did some re-writes. Brad is a really interesting director. His first film is visually stunning and I think this one is a very stylish looking thriller. It’s been amazing working with Brad. He has been very co-operative right through the making of this movie and I definitely look forward to working with him again in the future.
On Matthew McConaughey’s work in 'The Lincoln Lawyer '
I think people are going to be really impressed with Matthew’s work. The couple of scenes that I’ve done with him have come out brilliantly and he has put his best foot forward in every shot that he has given. He is bringing his best game to the fore; he is leaving none of it behind.
Would you ever hire such a lawyer?
It’s a good question. Luckily, I haven’t really had to hire that many lawyers but the one time I had to, was when I was still living in New York, and I was deposed to my tiny little apartment. There were four lawyers over there, three of them had black suits, really expensive ones and one of them was in a houndstooth check! Which one do you think I was paying?
What do you have to say about technicians from India working in Hollywood movies?
There have been technicians in the past, from this part of the world, who have done magnificent work, here in Hollywood. I had seen ‘Gandhi’ years ago, and the performances that the Indian actors in the movie had come up with were magnificent and were highly instrumental in the success of the movie. M Night Shyamalan has been keeping the Western audience on the edge of their seats with his kind of movies. He is a class act.
'The Lincoln Lawyer' was released on Friday. The cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillipe along with Marisa Tomei. The movie is directed by Brad Furman.
