The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Em: 00:02:47

Hi, everyone, I'm Em, and welcome to Verbal Diorama, episode 314, The Devil's Advocate. This is the podcast that's all about the history and legacy of movies you know, and movies you don't. That's the surprise you don't see coming.

Because this is a podcast. You can't see it, you hear it. Totally different. Welcome to Verbal Diorama.

Whether you're a brand new listener, whether you're a regular returning listener, if you are, thank you for coming back to this podcast. And if you're a brand new listener, thank you for finding this podcast.

But as always, I'm hugely grateful to everyone who takes the time to listen to this podcast. There are a lot of movie podcasts out there and a lot of them vying for your ears and for your attention.

And I'm so grateful that you are here listening to Verbal Diorama for the history and legacy of the Devil's Advocate. Thank you for your continued support of this podcast. It genuinely means so much to.

And the Devil's Advocate is a movie that I've wanted to cover for a long time. And considering the time of year we're starting to get into spooky season, to do a Keanu movie is always a special treat on this podcast.

And this, in my opinion, is one of his best roles. Not many can hold their own against Al Pacino, but I think Keanu gives it a good shot here.

And being honest, any actor in Hollywood would give anything to work with a legend like Pacino. Anything. Maybe even sell their soul for it. Not Keanu, thankfully. But vanity is Hollywood's biggest sin. And this movie asks us a simple question.

What would you do to succeed? And like most things with this podcast, the devil's in the details. Here's the trailer for the Devil's Advocate.

Em: 00:06:44

Kevin Lomax, a talented defense attorney from Florida with an undefeated record is recruited by a prestigious New York law firm after successfully defending a clearly guilty client.

As Kevin and his wife Marianne settle into their luxurious new life, Marianne begins experiencing disturbing visions and psychological deterioration while Kevin becomes increasingly obsessed with his work and the intoxicating power it brings.

Kevin gradually discovers that not only is his charismatic boss John Milton actually Satan, but also his father and daddy dearest has grand designs for Kevin to father the Antichrist. Let's run through the cast of this movie.

We have Keanu Reeves as Kevin Lomax, Al Pacino as John Milton, Charlize Thrawn as Mary Ann Lomax, Geoffrey Jones as Eddie Barzoon, Judith Ivy as Ali Slomax, Connie Nielsen as Cristabella Andreoli, Craig T. Nelson as Alexander Cullen, Tamara Tuney as Chuckie Heath, Reuben Santiago Hudson as Layman Heath and Heather Matarazzo as Barbara.

e by Andrew NEIDERMAN. Now in: 1990

The story of a talented lawyer, Kevin Taylor, who slowly becomes seduced by power and corruption at a high end New York law firm ran by John Milton, who assigns him a high profile case and wouldn't you believe it, but his new boss turns out to be the Devil. The movie is only very loosely based on the basic plot of the book. Much has changed, including character names.

Kevin Taylor becomes Kevin Lomax, his wife Miriam becomes Mary Ann.

And even her storyline differs with Miriam in the book, thriving alongside her husband's descent into craziness and enraptured by their new life, succumbing to all the temptations of this new life of luxury.

The ending is also drastically different, but the idea of Satan practicing law, depending on your views of the American judicial system, there is an argument for it. And if you recognize the name John Milton, I wouldn't be too surprised.

d that was first published in: 1667

He famously declares, better to reign in hell than serve in heaven, which aligns with the character's philosophy of self empowerment and rebellion against divine authority.

The film's version of Satan, like Milton's, doesn't appear as a traditional Horde demon, but as a sophisticated, almost sympathetic figure who believes he's liberating humanity from God's tyranny.

But also, speaking of the American judicial system, there's a strong argument for a certain high profile celebrity murder trial and this controversial outcome being the key reason this movie got made. And I'm not saying his defense lawyers sold their souls to the devil to get his not guilty verdict, but what they did was not necessarily say O.J. Simpson was innocent, but they persuaded the jury there was a reasonable doubt concerning the evidence and the NAPD's conduct in the case, which ultimately led to Simpson's acquittal.

And this is because the responsibility of a legal defence team isn't to prove innocence or secure an acquittal, but to question the evidence brought by the prosecution in the case, to hold it to legal scrutiny and to protect the rights of their client to a fair and unbiased trial.

So while we might question how a defence attorney can sleep at night when they know their client is guilty, they sleep at night knowing the state, as this is specifically in the case of the US court system has played by the rules, because even the most despicable of criminals deserves a fair trial. And a huge thanks to the Reddit Ask Lawyers thread for some really valuable information on the US legal system.

But really it's the same in most countries. You are legally entitled to a lawyer, and that lawyer is there to ensure fair treatment. And not every lawyer has sold their soul to the devil.

While Paradise Lost is seen as an influence to the story, the legend of Faust, notably Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's, is the primary source. Faust is a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust, an alchemist, astrologer and magician of the German Renaissance.

Kevin Lomax embodies the classic Faustian bargain, trading his soul for worldly success, knowledge and power. Like Faust, he's a brilliant man whose ambition leads him to make a deal with the devil.

The film explores whether someone can be redeemed after such a bargain. And Kevin's growing awareness of what he sacrificed mirrors Faust's eventual recognition of his moral predicament.

It explores the seductive nature of evil and questions whether humans are truly free to choose between good and evil.

When temptation is presented so appealingly, it isn't surprising that Andre Niederman would actively approach studios after his book's publication to pitch it to them for a film adaptation.

h producer Arnold Copleson on: 1993

Sets were designed, and it would have included scenes of Pitt's character being chased through the different levels of New York subway system, with each level being a level of hell in Dante's Inferno. Both Schumacher and Pitt would end up walking away when the script wasn't the best and a suitable actor couldn't be found to play the devil.

And then the O.J. Simpson trial gripped the nation, and courtroom dramas became a thing in the mid-90s, with Hollywood desperate to cash in on the nation's obsession with the judicial system, Warner Bros.

Hired Taylor Hackford to give the Devil's Advocate another go, with Tony Gilroy leading a script rewrite heavily inspired by Faust, but having the devil specifically not involved in any of the events. He could inspire people to do things, but not force anyone. It had to be of a person's free will.

Hackford was a huge fan of method acting, and so all of his actors were encouraged to stay in character on and off camera. And obviously, several things were changed in the film adaptation, including the fact that in the book, Lomax and Milton aren't related.

But the movie added a plot element for Milton to be revealed as both the devil and Kevin's father, with Kevin required to consummate his attraction to Christabella, the literal beautiful Christmas, and also his half sister in order to create the Antichrist with Rosemary's Baby and the Omen cited as inspiration.

Meanwhile, in: 1994

Its stars, Keanu and Sandra Bullock, were not contractually obligated to return. Bullock was persuaded to return with a reported $11 million salary and agreed financial backing for her passion project, Hope Floats.

Keanu was offered $12 million, but after finishing another action film in Chain Reaction, he didn't fancy doing another action movie and also the script was a bit duff because it's infamously about a cruise ship going out of control.

So he passed on Speed two to make the Devil's Advocate and he also took a pay cut to make the Devil's Advocate over the $12 million he was offered for the Speed sequel. Al Pacino had been offered the role of John Milton three times and he'd rejected it each time.

Desperate to hook Pacino for the role, Hackford and screenwriter Tony Gilroy wrote a couple of scenes to show Pacino how the role would be tailored just for him.

A devil who was sardonic, fascinating, charming, sexy and seductive, but not necessarily all powerful, operating purely on the power of temptation and lets humans choose ultimately what to do.

Pacino would recommend Sean Connery and Robert Redford, but the production really wanted him and so did Keanu Reeves, who obviously had signed onto the movie and really wanted to work with the iconic actor. Pacino would eventually agree, but the problem was the movie couldn't actually afford Al Pacino.

So Keanu Reeves agreed to a further pay cut to ensure they could afford him. Because any actor worth their salt in Hollywood would die to work with Al Pacino.

Keanu would do the same thing on the Replacements, to be able to work with the legendary Gene Hackman.

cino watched William Duterres: 1941

Following the model of the Divine Comedy, the relatively unknown 22 year old Charlize Theron, fresh off of auditioning for Showgirls. You remember she was turned down for that. But she also wasn't a huge fan of the extreme nudity in this movie.

She would have a nude love scene and a nude scene in a church and she asked her mother for advice on whether or not she should take the role. Her mum encouraged her to do it by telling her, quote, you should never let anything stand in your way of telling a true story. End quote.

And it turned out to be Theron's breakthrough role, but she almost didn't get it for being too beautiful. Hackford auditioned her four times before offering her the role of Mary Ann Lomax.

It wasn't a particularly happy experience for her at the start though, because Taylor Hackford's Method acting role was exhausting for her, with Mary Ann's descent into madness starting to affect her day to day life.

Once she stopped method acting, the experience was much more pleasant and she worked closely with Keanu to build up their character's chemistry because they're married for five years. She also talked to doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists for advice on how to portray Mary Ann's nervous breakdown.

The day they shot the church scene, the priest of the church greeted her and told her how wonderful it was that this character, desperately in need of help and love, goes to church to find it. And this was a movie that was filmed at real churches and real buildings in New York, and shooting on location in and around New York was a struggle.

pal photography began in late: 1996

The short daylight hours were also blamed for the movie falling behind schedule as well as a continually tardy Al Pacino. This was denied by producer Arnold Kopelman, who called Pacino the consumer professional who shows up to work when called.

But there were rumors that Pacino and director Taylor Hackford didn't see eye to eye with Pacino, calling Hackford arrogant and claiming that he yelled at everyone. There were also rumors that Pacino wasn't happy with Keanu. How could that be possible?

Pacino's publicist, Pat Kingsley, said the actor looked forward to seeing Keanu every day and that he was a joy to work with. Kingsley also denied that Pacino was late or had any contempt for Hackford.

There was also the tiny issue of Charlize Theron working illegally in the US and being kicked out of the country during filming too. Luckily, that was resolved quickly, but the delays kept mounting.

And within the industry there were rumors that maybe the devil's work was at play on the movie. The production designer here was Bruno Rubio and he designed John Milton's apartment, the design of which I'm going to come back to later.

But the ultra modern look of his office was inspired by Japanese and Italian architectural design, with the infinity pool added later in post because that's not especially safe to have in real life.

And it goes without saying that a character who displays a Trumpian level of opulence and a dubious character in Alexander Cullen was in fact modelled on Donald Trump. And Trump lent his penthouse in Trump Tower, Fifth Avenue to the production as Cullen's property.

Writer Tony Gilroy would say on the WTF podcast, quote, we needed the ugliest, most garish, horrifying real estate developer apartment you could possibly have and Trump threw his apartment at us, unquote. The boxing match that Lomax and Milton attend was not a stage bout, but it was in fact a legitimate world championship boxing match.

th of October: 1996

The Jones Brandon bout was supplemented with a WBA welterweight title fight featuring champion Ike Qwerty defending against challenger over Carr. Carr was promoted by Don Kane, which is why the promoter appears as himself in the movie, because he was at the match that day.

I'm not saying Don King is friends with the devil, but he was the most successful promoter in boxing history and allegedly stole money from all his boxers.

He was sued by Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Tim Witherspoon, Terry Norris and Lennox Lewis, most of whom agreed on financial settlements out of court.

So I'm not saying he's friends with the devil, but I'm also not not saying that Improvisation was encouraged on set, which led to Pacino singing and dancing to It Happened in Monterey by Frank Sinatra during a rehearsal. Hackford loved it so much he encouraged it for filming.

He put that moment in the final version of the scene, but instead of Pacino singing, he dubbed it with Sinatra singing. Hackford would call the scene in its entirety some of the most incredible improv he'd ever seen in his life.

But that's why you get Al Pacino in your movie.

And considering Pacino is playing the devil, you might think some of New York's most iconic churches would be reluctant to allow a movie about the devil to film in them.

But a number of them allowed it, including the Church of the Heavenly Rest, the outside of the Central Presbyterian Church, and the Manhattan Church of the Most Holy Redeemer.

The whole of 57th street was emptied on a Sunday morning at 7:30am to film the abnormally empty street, the law offices of Milton, Chadwick and Waters were designed and constructed on the top two floors of the Continental Club in Lower Manhattan.

Although John Milton's round office was built on a soundstage, the trial scenes were shot in both the federal and state courthouses downtown, as well as in the Municipal Building on Foley Square.

k shoot was finished by March: 1997

Jim Howard also appeared as the Lomax's interior designer.

Late 90s visual effects can sometimes be a bit hit and miss, but I'd argue the majority of the visual effects in the Devil's Advocate hold up well, including the aforementioned Infinity Pool. All of the water here is cgi. The demon faces were created by legendary creature effects creator Rick Baker.

At the climax of the story, after Kevin Lomax renounces his fate to conceive the Antichrist with his half sister, he shoots himself in the head and John Milton is transformed, first into a younger version of himself that resembles Keanu Reeves, and then into an angel.

To accomplish this, they used life masks of both Pacino's present day face and his younger face, the latter of which they obtained from Dick Smith, who created it for the Godfather.

They also made a life mask of Keanu Reeves, and Rick Baker, who did his training with Dick Smith, used all three to transform Pacino from his mature face to a youthful face to a blend of his own and Keanu's face and finally into an angel, which is of course what Lucifer was before he was cast out of heaven.

The visual effects budget for the movie was $5 million and 20% of it was used for Milton's animated sculpture where ballerinas were filmed naked in a tank of water next to a blue screen to create the flowing creation. The effect took three months to film and to add the effects in post production. But I am going to come back to that sculpture.

There is no obligatory Keanu reference for this episode because the whole movie is an obligatory Keanu reference.

But I did just want to point out that one of my favourite songs ever is used on the end credits of this movie, and that is Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones, which at one point was my ringtone back in the days when we had ringtones on our phones. Nowadays it's no ringtone or just by braid. So I love the fact that it's included in this movie.

The original trailer, which I used earlier on this episode, isn't shy about informing the audience who John Milton actually is. And you could argue that as trailers go, it does kind of spoil the ultimate reveal of the movie.

October: 1997

That 12 horror punch stayed at the top of the domestic US box office for three weeks before Starship Troopers came along, and then bean jumped from 12th place to second in its fourth week. Bean came out the same week as the devil's advocate and I know what you did last summer.

It debuted 10, dropped to 13, then 12th, and jumped 928.4% up to second place.

The Devil's Advocate stayed in the top 10 for five weeks, and on its 57 million dollar budget, the Devil's Advocate grossed 60.9 million dollars domestically in the US and 92 million dollars internationally, for a total worldwide gross of 152.9 million dollars.

, the one originally shown in: 1997

The sculpture in John Milton's office is very similar to a religious sculpture called Ex Nilo, which sits just above the western entrance of the National Cathedral in Washington.

It was so similar that it was judged to have violated copyright as well as the original sculptor Frederick Hart, voiding it offensive that the movie used it in a satanic setting and this religious sculpture is protected by copyright law. The movie was already shot and released theatrically before a lawsuit, Hart vs Warner Bros. Inc.

Came about, and the judge ruled that Hart and the cathedral had a substantial likelihood of a win at trial.

And so a settlement was reached where Warner Brothers could release the 475,000 copies through rental stores, but thereafter they would need to create a new version of the film with a new CGI image replacing every shot of the sculpture for for future releases.

And they also had to attach stickers to existing unedited videotapes to indicate there was no relation between the art in the film and Hart's copyrighted work.

Those copies had a large red message printed on the back of the case reading the large white sculpture of the human forms on the wall of John Milton's penthouse in the Devil's Advocate is not connected in any way with and was not endorsed by the sculptor Frederick Hard or the Washington National Cathedral joint copyright owners of the cathedral sculpture Ex nilo in Washington, D.C. the DVD was reissued later the same year with Sculpture Now Amended by cgi, a press release issued jointly by Warner Brothers, Hart and the Cathedral stated there is no relationship between the sculpture in Devil's advocate and and Mr. Hart's ex Nilo.

The press release also stated neither Mr. Hart nor the Cathedral endorses or sponsors or is in any way affiliated with the Devil's Advocate or the artwork in it.

n, unless it was the original: 1997

If you are interested in seeing what the sculpture looked like in the original theatrical release, there are several websites that note the differences and show screenshots of that original image, but it's safe to say that they've literally just covered it with some wavy lines and tried to get away with it that way.

Rotten Tomatoes has a rating of 63% for the devil's Advocate, with the site's critics consensus reading Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, the Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration. The film won the Saturn Award for Best Horror film, and Al Pacino was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.

's Advocate. This was back in: 2014

Then, the same year, original author Andrew Neiderman wrote a prequel novel called Judgment Day about John Milton's arrival in New York and him gaining control at the prestigious law firm. The author pitched Judgment Day to Warner Brothers as a TV series, but nothing came of either of these TV series attempts.

In: 2015

Often the subject matters are too emotionally heavy, and to be honest, this movie doesn't shy away from how despicable humans can be. And not just the defendants like Lloyd Gettys, but also the legal team celebrating their win and his release.

When Kevin Lomax knows his client is a disgusting, guilty pervert, getting the win is more important. Even Mary Ann celebrates the release of a sexual predator, and it does hang heavy over how I feel about these characters.

Not that anyone is deserving of a mental breakdown.

And Charlize Theron does incredible work with this character, but just an ounce of remorse or guilt at the outcome of the Gettys trial would have gone a long way to ingratiate these people a little bit more. But I guess that's the point. The devil only wants the win too.

It is all about the corrupting nature of ambition, greed and power, the gradual erosion of morality and the seductive power of wealth and status. The needle system is the perfect cover in that respect. No one trusts lawyers for good reason.

Even when faced with clear right and wrong, people can choose to turn a blind eye to protect their self interest. There's nothing Kevin Lomax won't do to further his career, but arguably a career that's been protected and guided by a higher power.

And this is John Milton's success story. Humans always have free will to choose their own actions.

All he does is set the stage, show them what they could achieve, and plays to their vanity the ultimate sin. Faustian deal making and yuppie ambition are not all that different.

John Milton is charming, charismatic and interesting when he wants to enlist you to his cause. And Al Pacino delivers exactly what you'd expect of him.

He chews the scenery like a pro and delivers the sort of rationalized rhetoric that would convince a young man drunk on winning 67 cases in a row to align with the Devil's law firm. His devil is theatrical, over the top, delivering impassioned monologues about God, humanity, pressure, morality and privilege.

But it's really the demise of Mary Ann Lomax that's the soul of this movie. A woman consumed by her alienation, her grief over finding out she's infertile.

And with Milton and his minions in her ear, commenting on her looks, her judgment slowly making her less in touch with reality, and all the while keeping Kevin from her, encouraging his late nights and his feelings towards Cristabella while simultaneously making them both feel guilty. Her suicide scene is truly one of the most traumatic scenes in a movie that's full of traumatic scenes.

Kevin Lomax's churchgoing mother sees Manhattan as a dwelling place of demons well before he does. He mistakes Milton's rooftop empire and its earthly pleasures for heaven. He even calls it Babylon, not realizing he is already in the depths of hell.

He has no end of opportunity, but only makes the right choice at the very end of the movie, choosing to die rather than help the devil win.

's Advocate. It's from August: 2022

I listened to it back then and I listened to it again when I was researching this movie because I knew they would have the excellent insight into the theology and mythology surrounding the movie and rather just recycle what they said. You should go and listen for yourself. It's a podcast I miss very much.

I know Laurel is doing great things with her new podcast Sleep and Sorcery, but I wanted on record that I very much miss the Midnight Myth and their episode on the Devil's Advocate is brilliant. Ultimately, though, despite it all being a dream and Lomax being given the chance to do the right thing, he does.

He rejects his client, knowing he will likely be disbarred, and leaves the courthouse with his wife, who's thankfully now alive and well. But on the way out is accosted by journalist Larry, who suggests writing a story about Lomax that will make him a star.

And so the cycle continues because Larry is Milton and vanity yet again is Kevin's downfall. How many times has this cycle happened? Who knows?

Maybe the Devil can replay Kevin's life multiple times before he finally succumbs to his desires and conceives the Antichrist. Let's be honest, I think the Devil has time.

I love this movie, not just because I genuinely think Keanu is great in it and holds his own against Al Pacino, but I love how you walk away and really think about what you've seen because the ending seems like a cop out until you realize it's not. Kevin Lomax isn't changed by what he's experienced and the Devil remains in control of his life. So really, maybe humans are the problem.

If we're never going to change our destructive ways, we will continue to destroy ourselves. We can blame the Devil all we want, but we are the controllers of our destiny. Not God, not Satan.

Good people can be good without God and bad people can be bad without Satan. But unlike Kevin Lomax, not all of us get a do over. We have one chance, so let's make it a good one. Thank you for listening.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the Devil's Advocate and thank you for your continued support of this podcast. If you want to get involved and you want to help this podcast grow, you could do several things to help out, all free of charge.

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s, the Original Candyman from: 1992

It gave us a fascinating relationship at the core of the movie.

y and Legacy of Candyman from: 1992

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Simon, Laurel, Derek, Ken, Kat, Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Jack, Dave, Stuart, Nicholas, so Kev, Heather, Danny, Stu, Brett, Philip M. Zos, Shawn, Rhino, Philip K, Adam, Elaine, Kyle, Aaron, and Connor. If you want to get in touch. As I mentioned, if you follow me on social media, you can send me a dm.

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I would love to hear from you. And finally,

Speaker B: 00:39:29

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.

And while you're jumping from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughing his sick ass off. He's a tight ass. He's a sadist. He's an absentee landlord. Worship that? Never.

Speaker A: 00:40:27

Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven, is that it?

Speaker B: 00:40:30

Why not? I'm here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began. I've nurtured every sensation man has been inspired to have.

I cared about what he wanted, and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him. In spite of all his imperfections. I. I'm a phantom man. I'm a humanist. Maybe the last humanist.

Who, in their right mind, Kevin, could possibly deny the 20th century was entirely mine? All of it, Kevin. All of it. Mine. I'm peeking, Kevin. It's my time now.

Em: 00:41:19

Bye.