YMMV / The Devil's Advocate

• Alternative Character Interpretation: In the finale, Christabella soothes Kevin in the wake of his wife's suicide by telling him "I know what you're going through." Is this just a meaningless platitude, or is it a moment of honesty revealing that Christabella actually went through the same downward spiral of corruption and temptation as Kevin has before becoming Milton's agent?
• Accidental Aesop: Mary Ann's entire character arc could be viewed as a criticism of the traditional housewife role. She has no career of her own, wants to have a child but has difficulty conceiving, throws herself into home improvement and mingling with a group of trophy wives to pass the time, then gradually goes stir-crazy out of both loneliness and a sense of failure.
• Anvilicious: Lawyers should not be Amoral Attorneys.
• Awesome Music: The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black," played over the closing credits while Impressive Pyrotechnics light up the screen.
• Complete Monster: "John Milton", really Satan himself, is a senior partner at Milton, Chadwick, Waters, which he uses to entice greedy humans. Happily keeping rapists and murderers out of jail, Milton's firm also has ties to the arms trade and chemical weapons around the globe to spite his father God. Ultimately seeking to bring about the apocalypse, Milton fathers many children with unknowing women, intending for the "best" ones to breed together and give birth to The Antichrist. When protagonist lawyer Kevin Lomax proves his most promising yet, Milton focuses on corrupting him, going behind Kevin's back to rape and mutilate the latter's beloved wife Mary Ann, eventually driving her insane and to suicide. When Kevin confronts Milton, he boastfully admits to his crimes before trying to have Kevin sleep with the latter's demonic half-sister Christabella, burning her to death in a rage when Kevin shoots himself to defy Milton's plans.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Milton. Never mind his horrific acts of villainy, his unbridled charm and passionate monologues make too much of an impression.
• Genius Bonus: When Kevin Lomax wins his final case, he completes 66 court victories in a row, a number very similar with 666, which is associated with the devil. Also, when he is at the hospital where Mary Ann is placed, he signs her papers with the left-hand, which was culturally associated with the angel of death and those who have fallen out of God's favor.
• He Really Can Act: Keanu Reeves, despite occasionally slipping into his usual wooden routine, really delivers an emotional performance during the scene where Mary Ann commits suicide.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Keanu Reeves squaring with Al Pacino in the movie became funnier in retrospect as in PAYDAY 2, John Wick and Scarface can fight together. For extra hilarity, both of them aren't portrayed by the original cast.
• It Was His Sled: John Milton is the Devil.
• Moral Event Horizon: While Milton/Satan was always evil, one of his truly cruel acts is viciously raping Mary Anne and driving her to suicide.
• Narm: The natural result of Al Pacino's hamminess and Reeves' rather stoic acting being both put in the same movie.
  • To say nothing of Reeves' Southern accent, which constantly oscillates between "cartoonish" and "non-existent"
  • Narm Charm: A result of the above, the mixture of hilarious and horrifying is actually a draw for some people.
  • That said, both of them tend to ham it up when Pacino gives his twenty minute scene ranting at God. It's pretty awesome.
    Kevin: GODDAMN IT, WHAT DID'YA DO TA MAH WIYFE!?
    Milton: Well... on a scale of one to ten—ten being the most depraved act of sexual theater known to man, one being your average Friday night run-through at the Lomax household—I'd say, not to be immodest, Mary Ann and I got it on at about... (cue the creepy yet funny face) seven?
    Kevin: FUCK YOUUUUUUUUU!
• Retroactive Recognition: A young Monica Keena can be briefly seen playing Alexander Cullen's daughter Alessandra.
• Rooting for the Empire: Milton is intended to be charismatic and entertaining, so it's hardly surprising that the audience can warm to him, even for all the evil he represents and displays.

---