The Counselor (2013)

Like David Fincher's "Se7en," one of this movie's closest spiritual cousins, "The Counselor" ultimately delivers a diagnosis that tells the awful truth.

Filed under: On Movies & MediaRidley ScottFilm ReviewCormac McCarthyThe Counselor
The Counselor (2013)
[Image: 20th Century Fox]

Did your plans go wrong? Did a deal go bad?

No matter. You can outwit the devil. You can get away clean. You just need the right stuff. Cleverness. Strength. Resourceful friends. Enough money. Slick gadgetry. A holster at your hip. Courage and charm. Oh — and an escape route, in case you need to disappear. Don’t worry... you can untangle yourself, learn from your mistakes, and start fresh.

This is America, after all. For those who get wise and pull themselves up by their bootstraps, this is the land of second chances.

That’s what the movies tell us. Over and over again. The best way to manage in a world of bad men with guns is to become a good man with a gun. Doesn’t the Bible tell us we can overcome evil with good — or at least with good intentions?

And if you’re really good, you can look cool doing it.

Cormac McCarthy does not believe that.

🎟️
Looking for the rest of this review? Join the large-hearted readers who support this work with a few dollars (or more). I am grateful for readers who enable me to highlight occasions of beauty, truth, love, and imagination in this troubled and troubling world.