Sightlines · reception

How The Devil's Advocate was received

1997 · Taylor Hackford · The Devil's Advocate on Sightlines

The arc

A modest hit with mixed reviews in 1997 — critics shrugged at the pulp and rolled their eyes at Keanu's Southern accent — it's since become a beloved late-90s rewatchable, treasured precisely for its excess, with Pacino's performance reappraised as gloriously, knowingly over the top.

What’s debated

The eternal split: is Pacino's scenery-devouring turn a masterclass in ham or just ham — and is Keanu's wobbly Florida drawl a flaw or part of the charm?

Its footprint

Pacino's closing-stretch monologue — 'God is an absentee landlord' and the parting 'Vanity... definitely my favorite sin' — is endlessly quoted and clipped, a go-to reference for peak shouty-era Pacino.

Where it stands

A cult favorite of the 90s-thriller revival crowd — the 'trashy but transcendent' pick that Letterboxd reviewers gleefully five-star with a wink.

Did you know? Sculptor Frederick Hart sued the studio because the sensual relief sculpture in Milton's penthouse closely resembled his 'Ex Nihilo' at Washington National Cathedral — the case settled, and home-video releases digitally altered the sculpture.