It’s been a few years since his exceptional directorial debut “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” (which featured excellent performances by January Jone, hello, new GQ cover, and Barry Pepper and written by Guillermo Arriaga) but Tommy Lee Jones is returning to the helmer’s chair for an adaptation of Michael Connelly’s legal thriller “The Lincoln Lawyer.”
The novel is about an ambulance-chasing, bottom of the ladder criminal attorney who is chosen to represent a Beverley Hills playboy in a murder case. Matthew McConaughey — who cannot stand up by himself — will play the lead. Maybe Jones can actually coax a good dramatic performance out of the actor (though he was rather funny in “Tropic Thunder” as the vacuous Hollywood agent, but it’s been a while since he’s done a serious role of note).
It sounds more conventional than Lee Jones’ previous effort, but hopefully he can make something interesting from the Grisham-esque material. The director will also play a role, as yet unknown, in the movie, which has a script from “Nights in Rodanthe” writer John Romano.
If Jones can make the picture even half as successful as the measured, understated and very underrated ‘Three Burials,’ we’ll still have a pretty decent picture on our hands.