The Devil inside everyone...

Saw a damn good movie--- the devil's advocate. Some movies linger on in your mind --they haunt you, you'll mull over it long after the movie is over. This is one such movie.

Keanu reeves is a successful lawyer in florida who hasn't yet lost a case. He gets an offer from a reputed law firm in Newyork and he moves over there. The head of the firm( Al pacino, as fantastic as ever ) becomes a kind of mentor to him but he's also a sinister and mysterious guy. He plays the behind the scenes role as keanu takes up cases in which the clients are damn guilty, and gets them freed. The big money, luxurious life style, the idea of escaping from a humble past in a small town--- these are his motivations. Though his conscience bites him at times, he brushes it aside and plunges deep into his work. And he doesn't notice that he's moving away from his beloved wife. He's also attracted towards a seductive colleague and as he moves up the ladder of success, his downfall begins. The wife starts hallucinating and before long, becomes a wreck but he's too busy to take care of her. And one day she kills herself.

Someone warns him of the firms reputation and other shady business interests but all those who grow suspicious get killed. And then comes the revealation. His mother who's visiting him, recognises Al pacino as his dad.

The reality however is more deeper. When keanu confronts Al pacino, he gets the shock of his life. Pacino is none other than Satan and the law firm is his device to protect evil and crush all that's good and noble.

The story does a somersault and shifts back in time when keanu is in the toilet of a florida court room, looking into a mirror and wondering if his client is actually guilty of molesting his student or not. Nothing has happened yet-- he hasn't gone to Newyork, his wife is still sitting in the courtroom, and he's yet to begin his arguement. He's still the small town lawyer, desiring money, success, status. But he decides to dump it. He withdraws from the case and walks out of the courtroom with his wife.

This is everyone's story. There's a keanu in everyone of us, hiding behind in the darkness of our heart. The desire for success, fame, adulation and money at any cost, the thrill of hitting it off big time-- these are latent possiblilities in every human being. To overcome these and stick to what we think is right, that seems to be the struggle here.

To succeed, earn money, fame and admiration--- these are goals and desires we all cannot deny. And we have a right to pursue these. But can we give up success if it is tainted? Can we chuck it all if we know that it's going to take us away from all our values? Can we resist the temptation?

In the last scene of the movie, as keanu leaves the courtroom, a journalist friend stops him and asks for an interview. He wants to put him on the headline in the next day's newspaper. Keanu ponders for a while, looks at his wife and says, 'Okay'.

The reporter transforms slowly into the devil, Al pacino who drawls with a wicked smile, 'Vanity-- my favorite weapon'!