The Counsellor

Going from the excellent Arrival, I made the mistake of recently watching Ridley Scott's 2013 crime thriller, The Counsellor. Adapted from a Cormac McCarthy novel and along with a starry cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Brad Pitt, I remember feeling excited about this when the trailer was released. At the time Breaking Bad was concluding its final season so this looked like the movie alternative that involved crime, drugs and the US/Mexican border but something went wrong.

The story follows Fassbender's character, known only as Counsellor, as he gets involved with drug trafficking to make extra money and ensure a wealthy lifestyle with his fiancee played by Cruz. But things soon fall out of his hands and the bright future he fought for starts to seem impossible. On paper this sounded like an interesting idea complete with an interesting set of characters. Fassbender is the confident and smartly dressed lawyer, Pitt a mysteriously slick businessman with connections in dark places, a femme fatale Diaz and a rather flamboyant Bardem with a loud taste for clothes. Scott takes an ambitious approach to the story that expands into multiple strands as we see various events take place and the knock-on affect it has with Fassbender's plans but, rather than making for a satisfying experience, it becomes very muddled.

There's no mistaking that Scott has an eye for visuals and this is a aesthetically interesting film to watch. From the soulless urban parts of American desert, Bardem's modern villa, bustling Mexican streets, dead-end bars and the anonymity of the financial streets of London, Scott ensures each location feels different from the last but adds a layer of grime as he explores this dirty business we see unfold. And while the film will make you feel uncomfortable and need to shower afterwards, it's this toxic feeling that drains Fassbender's character which works best. If Scott could have directed the story more towards this aspect I think we could have found a much better film with a satisfying conclusion.

Unfortunately, The Counsellor is a shallow mess and never recovers. The consistently unlikeable characters almost speak in riddles to hint at the idea of a bigger event at play but sadly not even that illusion can save this from being a film you should avoid. Thankfully, Scott has proven he can still produce great films with The Martian which should wash away this bad taste.