Movies just don't feel this sweaty anymore.
When you look back at the cast of The Devil's Advocate, you aren't just looking at a list of names on a call sheet. You're looking at a specific moment in 1997 where star power, theatrical camp, and genuine psychological dread collided in a way that modern streaming movies rarely replicate. It’s a weirdly perfect film.
Taylor Hackford, the director, managed to wrangle Al Pacino at his most "HOO-AH" and Keanu Reeves right before The Matrix changed his career trajectory forever. Then there’s Charlize Theron. People forget she was basically an unknown back then. This was the movie that proved she could act circles around established veterans while slowly descending into a fugue state of Southern-belle-in-Manhattan madness.
The story is simple enough: a hotshot Florida lawyer who has never lost a case gets recruited by a powerful New York firm run by a man who turns out to be, quite literally, Satan. But the cast makes it high art.
Al Pacino as John Milton: The Performance That Chewed the Scenery to Pieces
Honestly, if you put anyone else in the role of John Milton, the movie probably fails. It becomes a cheesy B-movie. But Al Pacino decided to lean so far into the role that he basically redefined what a cinematic Devil looks like. He's not some red-horned beast in a cape. He’s a CEO. He’s a guy who rides the subway and complains about the "clutter" of human morality.
Pacino’s Milton is charming until he isn't. One second he’s offering Keanu a high-end apartment, and the next he’s screaming about how God is an "absentee landlord." It’s loud. It’s provocative. It’s arguably the most Pacino-esque performance of his entire career, sitting right alongside Scarface and Heat.
What’s wild is that Pacino actually turned down the role three times. He felt it was too much of a caricature. It wasn't until the script was rewritten to make Milton more of a mentor and a father figure—albeit a demonic one—that he finally signed on. He saw the potential for the "vanity" speech, which remains one of the most cited monologues in legal drama history.
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Keanu Reeves as Kevin Lomax: The Straight Man in a Funhouse
Keanu Reeves gets a lot of flak for his Southern accent in this movie. Let’s be real: it’s not great. It wavers between "North Florida lawyer" and "I’m trying my best." But here’s the thing—his performance works because Keanu has this inherent earnestness.
As Kevin Lomax, he has to play a man whose soul is being eroded by degrees. He starts as a guy who will defend a child molester just to keep his "undefeated" streak alive, and he ends as a broken man realizing he’s been the architect of his own misery. Keanu’s physicality is what carries the role. You see the stress in his shoulders as the movie progresses. You see him getting slicker, colder, and more arrogant as the New York lifestyle takes hold.
He actually took a massive pay cut—reportedly several million dollars—so the production could afford to bring Al Pacino on board. That tells you everything you need to know about Keanu’s priorities. He knew he needed a heavyweight to play against if the movie was going to have any real gravitas.
Charlize Theron: The Real MVP of the Film
If Pacino provides the fire, Charlize Theron provides the heart and the horror. Playing Mary Ann Lomax, she goes through the most dramatic transformation in the film. She starts as the supportive, bubbly wife excited for a new life in the big city. By the third act, she’s a hollowed-out shell of a human being, haunted by visions of demons and losing her grip on reality.
Theron spent three months seeing a psychotherapist every day to understand the mechanics of schizophrenia and mental breakdown for this role. That level of commitment shows. The scenes where she’s wandering through the apartment or looking in the mirror are genuinely upsetting.
It’s easy to forget that at the time, Theron was mostly known for 2 Days in the Valley. The Devil's Advocate was her "I’m here to stay" moment. She holds her own against Pacino’s screaming and Keanu’s intensity, often stealing the scenes right out from under them with nothing but a trembling lip and a terrified gaze.
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The Supporting Players: More Than Just Background Noise
The cast of The Devil's Advocate is surprisingly deep. You’ve got Connie Nielsen as Christabella Andreoli, who plays the "temptress" archetype but with a cold, predatory intelligence. She represents the firm’s seductive power—the physical embodiment of the sin Kevin is leaning into.
Then there’s the late, great Craig T. Nelson as Alexander Cullen. He plays the billionaire client accused of a triple homicide. Nelson is perfect at playing that "untouchable" wealthy arrogance. He’s the kind of guy who thinks he can buy his way out of anything, and for most of the movie, he’s right.
We also can't ignore:
- Jeffrey Jones as Eddie Barzoon: The firm’s managing partner who learns the hard way that when you dance with the Devil, you eventually have to pay the piper (or get beaten to death by joggers in Central Park).
- Judith Ivey as Mrs. Alice Lomax: Kevin's deeply religious mother. She serves as the moral compass of the film, providing the "fire and brimstone" warnings that Kevin chooses to ignore.
- Delroy Lindo as Phillipe Moyez: A brief but memorable performance involving animal sacrifice and legal loopholes. Lindo brings a weird, supernatural gravity to what could have been a throwaway scene.
Why the Casting Worked So Well (The New York Factor)
The film was shot largely on location in Manhattan, and the city itself feels like a character. It’s a cold, metallic, 1990s version of New York. The production even got permission to film in Donald Trump’s actual penthouse at Trump Tower to represent Alexander Cullen’s home.
The contrast between the Florida opening—all humid courtrooms and wooden benches—and the sterile, glass-and-steel canyons of New York highlights Kevin’s corruption. The cast fits into these environments perfectly. Pacino looks like he owns the streets. Keanu looks like he’s trying to conquer them. Theron looks like she’s being crushed by them.
Surprising Trivia and Casting What-Ifs
Hollywood is full of "almost" stories. Before Keanu Reeves was cast, the role of Kevin Lomax was offered to Brad Pitt and even John Cusack. It’s hard to imagine Cusack in this; he has a naturally cynical vibe that might have made Kevin’s descent feel less like a tragedy and more like a foregone conclusion.
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For the role of John Milton, the studio originally wanted someone like Sean Connery or Richard Harris. While they would have brought a different kind of gravitas, they lacked the manic energy that Pacino brought. Pacino’s Milton feels like a guy who could actually run a modern law firm. He’s relatable in his evil.
Another fun fact: The famous scene on the rooftop with the water feature? That was filmed at the Continental Plaza. The water wall behind Pacino and Reeves isn't CGI; it’s a real architectural feature that added a surreal, shimmering quality to their conversation about "winning."
The Legal Thriller vs. Supernatural Horror
What makes the cast of The Devil's Advocate so effective is that they play the movie straight. For the first hour, you could almost believe you’re watching a standard John Grisham-style legal thriller. The stakes are career-based. The tension is about evidence and witness tampering.
But as the supernatural elements creep in, the actors don’t change their tone. They don't start "acting like they're in a horror movie." Instead, they treat the horror as a natural extension of the high-stakes world they inhabit. When Mary Ann sees the demons, Keanu reacts like a husband frustrated with his wife’s "instability," not like a guy in a ghost story. That groundedness is why the scares actually land.
Final Take on a 90s Classic
Looking back, The Devil's Advocate is a masterclass in tone. It’s 144 minutes long, which is quite a stretch for a supernatural thriller, but it never feels sluggish. That’s entirely due to the performances. You want to see what Milton says next. You want to see if Mary Ann survives. You want to see if Kevin can actually walk away.
The film tackles themes of vanity, free will, and the ethics of the legal profession without being too "preachy." It uses the cast's natural charisma to make the audience feel the same temptation Kevin feels. We like Milton. We want to see him win. And that’s the scariest part of the whole thing.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Movie Buffs
If you want to revisit the film or dive deeper into its production, here is what you should do next:
- Watch for the subtle CGI: If you re-watch the movie today, pay attention to the background extras in some of the law firm scenes. Several of them have their faces digitally distorted for just a few frames—subtle demonic hints that were groundbreaking at the time.
- Compare to the Source Material: Read the novel by Andrew Neiderman. The book is quite different—specifically the ending and the nature of Milton's relationship to Kevin. It gives you a new appreciation for the changes the screenwriters made.
- Check out the 4K Restoration: If you’ve only ever seen this on cable or an old DVD, the 4K transfer is worth it. The cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak (who also shot Speed and The Fugitive) is gorgeous, capturing the oppressive scale of New York architecture.
- Focus on the "Vanity" Monologue: Study Pacino's final speech. It’s a perfect example of how to deliver a long-form monologue without losing the audience's attention. His pacing, the way he uses his hands, and his sudden shifts in volume are a clinic in screen acting.