Laurent Lafitte reunites with director Tristan Séguéla for a new thriller that examines the week in hell of a lawyer defending a key witness in a high-stakes legal case, while on the verge of being disbarred for his addictions, which led to a collapse in the midst of the courtroom. But should you be a witness to this twisty redemption story?
French director Tristan Séguéla has a thing for fast-talking, business-minded characters whose clock is ticking on their fate. After starting out in comedies, he made a sharp turn into dramatic and thriller projects, with the help of Netflix and in-demand comedian Laurent Lafitte: Class Act chronicled the whirlwind life and times of controversial French businessman Bernard Tapie and premiered in 2022. Now, after Mercato which was starring Jamel Debbouze as a football agent, he reunites with Lafitte for The Good Lawyer, which had its world premiere in Venice in September.
The premise is pretty straightforward: Léonard Landry (Lafitte) is a brazen lawyer with an addiction to booze and cocaine, which also enables him to defend multiple cases at a time. In a whirlwind beginning, we see this lifestyle catching up to him in the midst of the courtroom, as associates of a criminal named Berisha track him down in the courtroom and violently berate him for his failure to appear in the courtroom properly as they didn’t compensate him yet. His erratic behavior leads to a collapse in the midst of a courtroom, with bags of cocaine found under his robe.
That would be enough for anybody to hit rock bottom, but as we pick up the story three weeks later and as he is deemed physically clean, he tries to lie and cheat his way back into the courtroom, awaiting his trial for the next Monday – The Good Lawyer happens over the course of a week. And as Landry is on his last ropes, he hears of a key witness in a high-profile case where a NGO attacked (fictional) energy group Varenne for their practices in Congo. As he takes the opportunity to make a last major hurrah, he brings in Noé (Anthony Bajon), a 30-year-old intern who is also down on his luck.
The working title for this movie was Clean, and more than the legal drama, which tends to be a little light on narrative despite a trip to Senegal for a session in a local courtroom, it’s the character study that is the focus here. Lafitte, an expert thespian who brings stage chops from the legendary Comédie-Française, brings enough self-hate, blank stares and meaningful body language to bring depth to a character who spirals into self-interested wacky deals, and does not hesitate to cross a lot of limits to make good on his promises to his clients. The night photography and dark hues (courtesy of cinematographer Augustin Barbaroux) bring to light better antihero dramas, mainly Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton, and some of the best American/British independent cinema.
The background of the case, which seems very inspired by a recent case where cement group Lafarge was found guilty of funding armed terrorist groups in Syria, only serves to illustrate Landry’s crafty schemes: first, in his direct dealing with the CEO of the energy group (played by legendary actress Carole Bouquet) and with the counsel on the case, lead lawyer Iris Saint-Didier (Mélanie Laurent), also his ex, and one of the last people he tries to woo to defend him in the trial. Séguéla and his co-writers are so focused on the spiral and eventual moral dilemmas for Landry that they miss the opportunity to properly develop his relationship and background with Iris; therefore, parts of The Good Lawyer really seem undercooked. That all comes to a head with confusing twists and deals later on in the movie.
The movie fares better in the relationship between Léonard Landry and his intern; even though some of the dialogue and circumstances do not benefit from its dialogue, which feels clunky and literal, Anthony Bajon’s Noé is just developed enough to be more than the appalled observer to the hellish mess that is Landry’s life. His many attempts to “protect” Landry from a relapse count among the most engaging, sometimes dryly funny sequences in the movie.
MVP
Anthony Bajon as Noé
Picture Credit: Netflix
Rising French talent Bajon earns his stripes as the intern/sparring partner of Landry, and by extension Lafitte. His scruffy side and smarts are one of the saving graces of a movie that sometimes plays its hand too heavily and with much gravitas.
If you like The Good Lawyer, watch
Matlock
Losing Judgment
Habeas Corpus
Verdict
The Good Lawyer is under heavy influence of its cinematic models, but remains a sometimes engaging drama and study of addiction, carried by Lafitte’s well-honed chops as an intense, smart character actor. But its passable legal plot and mechanics make it a minor entry into Netflix’s French lineup.