Review: Solid performances can’t save ‘The Counselor’ from its faults

Posted on November 1, 2013

Simply put, Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor” had everything going for it: an accomplished director, a cast filled with Academy Award winners and nominees and a screenplay from author Cormac McCarthy, whose novels have been adapted into successful movies such as “The Road” and the Academy Award-winning “No Country for Old Men.”

In the end, the film’s acting performances cannot overcome its unrelentingly morose story filled with irredeemable characters making bad decisions that bring trouble and death upon themselves and those around them.

I went into “The Counselor” expecting a depressing story of bad decisions and suffering which would be made compelling by an intriguing story and interesting characters. It turns out I was only half right.

The film is rated R for graphic violence, some grisly images, strong sexual content and language.

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