The Counselor (2013)

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer:   Cormac McCarthy
Cast:       Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz

The Counselor is out of his element after a drug deal he enters into go unintentionally bad and he is blamed for it.

This is Cormac McCarthy's first made for film script and it deals with themes like greed, its consequences and death. The film received highly unfavorable reviews and was a disaster at box office. Still I had hopes for it when I watched because of the talent involved and the fact that Fassbender and Pitt usually chooses their films well. I was not disappointed. Its the best film Ridley Scott has done for years. Biggest problem people have with the film I think is the un-likability of its characters. I don't understand why one feels the need to have a character to sympathize for. Closest we have are Fassbender's 'The Counselor' and Brad Pitt's world weary middle-man. Cameron Diaz plays the role of super-villain but its another role in the mold of Anton Chigurh from 'No Country For Old Men', but done differently. There are several set-piece scenes especially involving deaths and the famous 'Cameron Diaz fucking the car scene'. As the film goes on it enters into the surreal with philosophical discussion going on between 'The Counselor' and characters who just have a single scene in the film.

Some of the conversations are a bit forced especially at the beginning of the film but it improves as it goes on. The plot details are irrelevant and the film is like a Shakespearean tragedy. I will definitely watch it again.

Edit (3.12.2018): Re-watched it. Underrated. Extended cut it was this time round. 

Rating: 4/5