While this film has been criticized by some of the cognoscenti for being too low brow (like a made for television movie, they said), I would take those criticisms with a grain of salt as they come from pseudo intellectual art house types who wouldn't know a good movie if they saw one. (I say this after having seen other movies which they had highly recommended, and to say that I am disgruntled from having wasted so much of my time would be an understatement.) 

Like everyone else, I was mystified by the title for this movie which has been adapted from the (previously unread) novel of the same name by author Michael Connelly. No, lawyer Mick Haller, played with delightful aplomb by Matthew McConaughey, has no connection to our revered sixteenth President. He has instead earned this sobriquet because he works out of the rear of his chauffeur-driven Lincoln Continental Town Car. Mick had been convicted of DUI well before this story starts, but he since has grown so comfortable riding in the back with his driver, Earl (Laurence Mason), at the wheel that he decides to stay this automotive course even though his driver's license has long since been returned.

"The Lincoln Lawyer" has everything a good movie needs including nicely cast roles and strong production values. However, its greatest strength may be its intriguing story line about an attorney out for the big hustle only to find out that his newest case may not be what it seems and that he may be the one who is being hustled. The story starts with a possible new client, a rich one at that, being recommended by bail bondsman Val Valenzuela (John Leguizamo). Valenzuela is an exercise in sleaze if ever there was one, but he acts as Mick's fisherman trying to reel in new cases for which he gets a finder's fee. 

In this case, the fee may be considerable, as the client is Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), the playboy son of Mary Windsor (Frances Fisher), the wealthy owner of a very successful real estate company. Roulet has been charged with savagely beating up a prostitute, but he is convincing when he claims that he is innocent and that someone else must have beaten her after he had left. Roulet can't deny having been with her, since he was observed leaving a trendy bar in her company. His theory is that maybe her boyfriend, also seen at the bar, followed them home and beat her up so that the two of them could extort his family for money. 

There are additional legal issues in Haller's life. One is his ongoing defense of a biker gang led by Eddie Vogel (nicely played by singer Trace Adkins), who keep surrounding Haller's Continental to ask about the progress and to fork over additional cash for Haller's services. Another previous case returns to haunt Haller when he has to visit a prison to talk to Jesus Martinez (Michael Peña), a con in for life for having murdered a prostitute. Martinez and his mother had always maintained his innocence, but he was convicted in spite of Haller's best efforts to defend him. Now he has the heartbreaking look of a lifer with soulless eyes. 

As always, Haller is butting heads with the lead prosecutor on the case, in this instance, Ted Minton (Josh Lucas), who believes that Roulet is guilty just as much as Haller believes him to be innocent. However, what looks to be an open and shut case of easily clearing his client for a quick buck turns much darker when his lead investigator, Frank Levin (William H. Macy), calls him to tell him of a major discovery, only to end up being murdered before he is able to give him the information. Meanwhile, something has been buzzing around in the back of Haller's mind about the similarity of this case to one which he had previously defended years before.   

Like many movies, the best moments are the quiet ones like during the rides in the back of the Continental with Earl chauffeuring Haller to and from court. Others include his tender moments with his ex-wife Maggie McPherson (wonderfully played by Marisa Tomei) and their young daughter. These scenes add real substance and pleasure to this film in their realistically portrayal of Haller as a flawed ex-husband who has to deal with a former wife who also happens to be a prosecuting attorney. She had to forfeit this case since her ex is defending the suspect. 118 minutes and rated R for some violence, sexual content, and language.