The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 American horror film directed by Taylor Hackford starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, and based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman. The film's title is a reference to the common phrase "devil's advocate", and Pacino's character is named after the author of Paradise Lost, John Milton. The movie has some minor allusions to Milton's epic, such as the famous quotation "Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven". Kevin Lomax , a defense attorney in Gainesville, Florida, has never lost a case. He defends a schoolteacher, Mr. Gettys , against a... charge of child molestation. During the trial, Kevin realizes that his client is guilty, and a reporter tells him that a guilty verdict is all but inevitable. However, through a harsh cross-examination Kevin destroys the credibility of the victim and secures another not guilty verdict. As he celebrates, Kevin is approached by a representative of the New York law firm Milton, Chadwick & Waters, who offers him a large sum of money to help the firm with a jury selection.
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| Release date: | October 17, 1997 |
| Directed by: | Taylor Hackford |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 144 Minutes |
| Producer: | Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson, Anne Kopelson |
| Editor: | Mark Warner |
| Music by: | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography: | Andrzej Bartkowiak |
| Screenplay by: | Jonathan Lemkin, Tony Gilroy |
| Estimated budget: | $57,000,000 |
| Adapted from: | The Devil's Advocate |
| Genre: | Thriller |