THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

ONE STAR - Destructive

 

 

        Portraying evil with all its lustful temptations is never “G” rated.  This truth puts us in the awkward position in providing a commentary on the film “The Devil’s Advocate,” which is Biblically accurate yet we cannot recommend viewing.

        Although the Bible itself is not a “G” rated book and openly discusses the activities and consequences of sin, the experience of cinema is so vicariously engaging that to put those same realities on film can become spiritually damaging.

        John Milton, (Al Pacino) as the Devil, expresses a rebellious arrogance which is so compelling that the rebellious heart within us is easily seduced.  His logic, his power, his “devilish charm” and “tempting offers” are unchallenged on film by an equally powerful affirmer of God and God’s morally healthy alternatives.

        The only option the “hero” of the film finds is to kill himself in order to keep from participating in the evil.  The result of this choice is to leave the viewer impaled by the evil when so much more could have been said and done to show other alternatives than self-destruction as a way out.

        But having said this, the genius of the film is that it is true in its depiction of evil.

        Although not all religious traditions believe in the existence of Satan (some believe he is only the personification of evil), there does seem to be a force which compels us to use others for personal pleasure and gain.

        Presented as the head of a New York law firm which has its hands in such hellish activities as international arms dealing, drug trafficking, and all the other activities which enslave and kill human beings for economic and licentious gain, John Milton (Al Pacino) is supernaturally evil.

        He invites a young lawyer from Florida, Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) to join his firm.  As a DA, Lomax never lost a case.  This unbroken record continued even when he switched to the more lucrative side of defending criminals.   Willing to ignore his conscience when he knew a sex  molester was guilty so that he would never lose, Lomax is just the type of person for whom Milton is looking.

        Identifying Lomax’s weakness as the sin of vanity, Milton puts Lomax to the test:  Will he sacrifice his wife, his morality and his self-respect just to win a case?

        In support of the Biblical description of Satan’s role as the fallen angel who “tests” the character of God’s people, Milton plays “the devil’s advocate”  in the slippery daily decisions Lomax makes.  Milton himself always points out the “right” thing for Lomax to do so it is clear that Lomax is consciously choosing to follow a self-serving path.

        This is the true nature of evil.  For evil to truly be “devilishly delicious” it must be a chosen path.   Though one might try to rationalize the motivation both to himself and others, the thrill of rebelliously doing what one knows is wrong is the allure.  It is not until one has “gone further than one intended to go, stayed longer than one intended to stay and paid more than one intended to pay” that the real consequences are revealed.

        In his final appeal Milton attempts to lure Lomax  to incestually conceive the antichrist.  In a grandiose boast,  Milton declares that no one can question that the 20th century belongs to him.  The sex, the violence, the greed, the wars, the prejudice, the loss of life, morality and integrity are obviously winning.  “I’m at my peak!” he gleefully proclaims.

        No one can argue this.  But what is left out of this moment within the film is God’s response:  the faith, hope and peace that trust in God brings;  the sacrificial acts of compassion, caring and giving by believers;  the belief in God of thousands world-wide; the unprecedented evidence of growth in His people and a willingness to take a stand for Him.

        One young adult viewer said that he could not wait to get to church after seeing this film.  We agree.  This film tells only half of the story and it is the ugly half.

        Lomax states to Milton in the final confrontation, “The Bible says in the end you lose!”  The Bible also gives a clear picture of how God will win.  In this film, though, there is no such redeeming hope.

 

 

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