History Film / TheDevilsAdvocate

* GoOutWithASmile: Kevin grins big at Milton [[spoiler:just before putting the gun up to his head and pulling the trigger]].
-->'''Kevin:''' [[MeaningfulEcho Free will, right]]?

* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler:Milton is actually Kevin's father.]]

* Gaslighting: And how! [[spoiler:Milton to Mary-Anne]]. TurnedUpToEleven.

* Gaslighting: And how! [[spoiler:Milton to Mary-Anne]]. TurnedUptoEleven.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The movie opens in Gainesville, Florida. Specifically, a small rural town that looks ''nothing'' like the actual, modern, skyscraper-encrusted college town that is the real Gainesville, Florida, but does look like a one-horse hick town in the middle of nowhere, which was probably the point. Apparently the producers wanted Kevin Lomax to be from a small rural town and picked Gainesville, Florida off of a map at random, not realizing that "small rural town" does ''not'' describe Gainesville, Florida, and hasn't for about a hundred years. The [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]]-era "courthouse" where the trial was taking place is actually in a one-stoplight town some 32 miles east of Gainesville, for example; the courthouses in Gainesville proper are all modern, multistory buildings.

* DeepSouth: The movie opens in Gainesville, Florida...or rather, a small rural town that looks nothing like the real modern, skyscraper-encrusted, college-town Gainesville, Florida, but does look like a one-horse hick town in the middle of nowhere. Apparently the producers wanted a small rural hometown for Lomax and picked Gainesville off of a map at random, not realizing it hasn't been "small rural town" for about a hundred years.

-->[[spoiler:'''Milton:''']] Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His ''sick, fuckin' ass off!'' He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''* NayTheist: Claimed by [[spoiler:Milton]] in the climax.

* FeedMe: Al Pacino's [[spoiler:climactic meltdown is magnificent]]. The part where he seamlessly starts singing "It Happened In Monterrey" ''[[VoiceChangeling in Sinatra's voice]]'' somehow ups both the {{Fanservice}} and {{Squick}} of the scene.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:Satan]], whose entire ''modus operandi'' is based on hatred, never considered that love would be important to [[spoiler:Kevin]], and that he'd remember [[spoiler:Mary Ann]] as his best friend rather than as just a sex object [[spoiler:and thus reject Christabella]]. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Although it could just be an act]] to make [[spoiler:Kevin]] feel like the hero, while remaining as morally weak as before...

* ManipulativeBastard: Milton, of course. He prefers to deal with problems with words. When accosted on the subway, he manages to redirect violence by informing the mugger his partners is having sex with one of his friends.

-->[[spoiler:'''Milton:''']] Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His ''sick, fuckin' ass off!'' He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''

* GodIsEvil: Claimed by [[spoiler:Milton]] in the climax.
-->[[spoiler:'''Milton:''']] Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His ''sick, fuckin' ass off!'' He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''

* AbusiveParents: Mary Ann tells Kevin (and later recounts to Milton) that the only worse thing than having no Dad was having hers. [[spoiler: But, it turns out Kevin’s dad is even worse …]]

** Creator/AlPacino plays [[Film/AndJusticeForAll the head of a law firm]], speaks many languages including [[Film/{{Scarface 1983}} spanish]] and wants [[spoiler: his son]] Kevin to be in on [[Film/TheGodfather the family's evil business.]]

-->'''Milton''': Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. [[MoreThanMindControl You pull your own strings.]]"

--> '''Kevin''': [[MeaningfulEcho Free will, right]]?

-->Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His ''sick, fuckin' ass off!'' He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''

--->'''Milton''': ''...Acquittal after acquittal after acquittal--until the stench of it reaches so high and far into heaven, it '''chokes the whole fucking lot of them!'''''

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/al-pacino-devil-devils-advocate_1180.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[LargeHam One of Al Pacino's more low-key performances]].]]

!!Provides Examples Of:

* AmbitionIsEvil: Kevin's ferocious commitment to winning his court cases results in him defending some rather unsavory characters, and costs him his marriage. He also reveals to Milton that he won all his Florida cases by secretly listening in on how the Jury was deliberating and making the proper adjustments.

* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler: Milton is actually Kevin's father.]]

* BishonenLine: At the climax, after erupting in a showy display of power and anger and briefly experiencing an ugly GlamourFailure, [[spoiler:Milton]] sprouts angelic wings and looks just like [[spoiler:Kevin]] but with long wing hair in his [[spoiler:true angelic form.]]

* CoolOldGuy: John Milton. Sure he's The Devil and even without that, a perfect example of a corrupt Attorney. However, he's suave, persuasive, can speak any language to perfect accuracy and is very rewarding to those that actually impress him. Much of why Kevin manages to get in his good graces so fast, [[spoiler: aside from being his son of course;]] is because he worked for it.
* TheCorrupter: Of course, the Devil is the ultimate corrupter. Why he doesn't just force people to obey him? As the man himself says: "Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. [[spoiler: No, I only set the stage. [[MoreThanMindControl You pull your own strings.]]"]]
* DeepSouth: The movie opens in Gainesville, Florida. Or rather, a small rural town that looks nothing like the real modern, skyscraper-encrusted, college-town Gainesville, Florida, but does look like a one-horse hick town in the middle of nowhere. Apparently the producers wanted a small rural hometown for Lomax and picked Gainesville off of a map at random, not realizing it hasn't been "small rural town" for about a hundred years.
* DivinelyAppearingDemons: Near the end, [[spoiler: the Devil is briefly seen as the Angel Lucifer.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Mary Ann is ultimately driven crazy by Milton’s machinations, Kevin’s emotional distance, and finally by Milton brutally raping her.]]

* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: Played with. Kevin must freely choose [[spoiler:to accept Milton’s offer to sire TheAntiChrist, which shows the danger of free will—since Kevin ''can'' make that choice—but also its unpredictability—since Kevin is free also to ''not'' make that choice. Ironically (for this trope), it's Kevin's free will that defeats Satan’s plan.]]

** In the scene in the changing room, [[spoiler: the Devil's girls]] strip down to their underwear while casually making Mary-Anne as uncomfortable as possible and...[[spoiler: AUGH! BAD FACE! BAD FACE!]]

* FeedMe: Al Pacino's [[spoiler: climactic meltdown is magnificent]]. The part where he seamlessly starts singing "It Happened In Monterrey" ''[[VoiceChangeling in Sinatra's voice]]'' somehow ups both the {{Fanservice}} and {{Squick}} of the scene.

* FurAndLoathing: Some ladies wear fur, but as they are part of the law firm (or married to those in it),[[spoiler: they are likely evil, or under the influence of evil.]]
* GlamourFailure: Double probably. When Milton, in his rage, [[spoiler: lets out the shockwave that kills his daughter, for a brief moment he's seen through it as an ugly withered ghoul. His true appearence perhaps? Also, when his daughter dies, her form changes briefly into something revolting before being burned too much. Is it possible they are both ugly? She did mention having to wait a very long time. Ids she some 300 year devil spawn?]]
* GoOutWithASmile: Kevin grins big at Milton [[spoiler: just before putting the gun up to his head and pulling the trigger]].

-->"Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His ''sick, fuckin' ass off!'' He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''"

---> '''Milton''': ''...Acquittal after acquittal after acquittal – until the stench of it reaches so high and far into heaven, it '''chokes the whole fucking lot of them!'''''

* HalfHumanHybrids: Many of [[spoiler: Milton's lawyers]] (being his [[BastardBastard bastard children]] [[ReallyGetsAround by various women from around the world]]) are examples of this, and [[spoiler:Kevin]] himself learns that he is one, too.
* HeelRealization: Kevin has a small one when [[spoiler: the FBI agent investigating Milton tells him a child was found in the car of the molester he defended]].
* HereWeGoAgain: After the climax, when Lomax realizes that it was [[spoiler: AllJustADream]], he is approached by [[spoiler: Satan in different disguise, who again plays Lomax's vanity]], albeit in slightly different way, with predictable results.
* HeroicSuicide: [[spoiler:Kevin]] kills himself rather than [[spoiler:father]] TheAntichrist.

* HollywoodVoodoo: Kevin's first case with Milton's firm involves defending a man who was caught slaughtering a goat in the practice of Santeria. The actual case (and Kevin's defense of religious freedom) are completely plausible and justified. [[spoiler: However, the client's use of a curse against the prosecutor and other hints at supernatural powers... stretches the imagination]].
* HumanoidAbomination: It's {{Satan}}, what did you expect? Given the extent of his powers in the film, [[spoiler: (not to mention the creepy, writhing statue in his penthouse), his depiction flirts with EldritchAbomination as well.]]
* IdenticalGrandfather: [[spoiler:The Devil]]'s true form as a [[spoiler:FallenAngel]] has the exact same face as his male offspring. Justified, since he is a [[spoiler:divine being]] and his son a [[spoiler:Nephilim.]]

* InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn: After [[spoiler: Mary Ann kills herself]] and Kevin realises what he has to do, he heads for the final confrontation on foot, because Manhattan is suddenly and inexplicably uninhabited.
* IronicEcho: "Free will. Ain't it a bitch?" [[spoiler: Kevin turns it against Milton by killing himself, causing Milton to have a hissy fit to end all hissy fits. "Free will, huh?"]]

* JoggersFindDeath: When [[spoiler: Eddie Barzoon]] goes for a jog in the park, he doesn't come back alive.

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Milton is Kevin's father]]

* ReplacementGoldfish: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]]. After Kevin's wife Mary Ann [[spoiler:has been DrivenToSuicide]] and Milton offers Christabella as a replacement, she's adopted the same curly hairstyle as Mary Ann (whereas she had straight hair before this scene).
* TheReveal: A man from the Justice Department all but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSfSQdlicxE spoon-feeds]] it to Kevin that Milton is a ''world''-class scum enabler. He also reveals that Kevin's previous client [[spoiler:just killed a girl]]. Milton is then seen grinning up at the murals on a church ceiling ([[BreakingTheFourthWall or the camera]]) and dipping a finger into a fount of holy water, boiling it.

** ...aaand then the guy [[spoiler:gets hit by a speeding car]].

* SanitySlippage: Mary Ann starts out as much of a go-getter as her husband, but between being becalmed in their huge apartment, [[spoiler: the shallowness of the other wives, and the ''evil'' surrounding them, she unravels completely.]]
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Kevin’s whole life has been this. Milton [[spoiler:purposely impregnated a young pastor’s daughter from the DeepSouth, so his son would be raised in the Bible Belt.]] Then each case Kevin took on raised the stakes of how far he was willing to go to win, despite knowing his clients were guilty. His willingness to get Cullen off for murder despite knowing he is guilty is the final test before Milton reveals to Kevin his true identity and plan. Mary Ann lampshades this at one point during her SanitySlippage, saying, “This whole thing feels like one big test!”

** Greed rears it's head in the riches that Kevin is granted... as long as he keeps bending the rules.

* GlamourFailure: Probably. When Milton, in his rage, [[spoiler: lets out the shockwave that kills his daughter, for a brief moment he's seen through it as an ugly withered ghoul. His true appearence perhaps?]]

-->"Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? ''He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off!'' He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''"

-->"Let me give you a little inside information about God. 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, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off! He's a tight-ass! He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''"

* BreakThemByTalking[=/=]WeCanRuleTogether: Milton’s final speech to Kevin is a combination of these—convincing Kevin that he was responsible [[spoiler:for Mary Ann’s suicide]] and for getting off all the people he knew to be guilty, and thus he and Milton are NotSoDifferent, and convincing Kevin that he should agree to Milton’s plan to [[spoiler:sire the AntiChrist]].

* ChocolateOfRomance: Milton tells Kevin that the feeling of love is chemically no different than eating a lot of chocolate.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Mary Ann’s is ultimately driven crazy by Milton’s machinations, Kevin’s emotional distance, and finally by Milton brutally raping her.]]

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Kevin’s whole life has been this. Milton [[spoiler:purposely impregnated a young pastor’s daughter from the DeepSouth, so his son would be raised in the Bible Belt.]] Then each case Kevin took on raised the stakes of how far he was willing to go to win, despite knowing his clients were guilty. His willingness to get Cullen off for murder despite knowing he is guilty is the final test before Milton reveals to Kevin his true identity and plan.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Craig T. Nelson's character is an obvious Expy of Creator/DonaldTrump, down to living in The Donald's ''personal apartment'' in Trump Tower. Much like in TheCameo above, it's unclear as to whether Trump was aware of what the film was actually about.

* MarriedToTheJob: Before he signs on with Milton, Kevin is heavily invested in his career and his wife is just as enthusiastic about it. Afterwards, well... not so much.

'''John [[LouisCypher Milton]]:''' Oh, [[IHaveManyNames I have so many names]]...

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/al-pacino-devil-devils-advocate_1180.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[LargeHam One of Al Pacino's more low-key performances]].]]

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.