Even though Tommy Lee Jones jumped out of the director’s chair on the film last fall due to “creative differences,” the legal thriller “The Lincoln Lawyer” with Matthew McConaughey is still alive and we learn from the Production Weekly twitter that Marisa Tomei is in talks to join the cast, playing Matthew McConaughey’s ex-wife, prosecuting attorney Maggie McPherson.
Based on the Michael Connelly novel about a low-level criminal defense attorney who defends clients from every walk of life, McConaughey’s character, Michael “Mickey” Haller, chooses to defend a Beverly Hills playboy (his first rich client in years) who is arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar.
We haven’t read the novel, but a reader’s guide gives us some insight into the character Tomei could potentially play: “Mickey and his ex-wife…appear to have a different view of the law. To her it is a calling and about justice. She views what he does as sleazy. Mickey says that her calling may have cost them their marriage. “
We’re kind of surprised its taken this long for McConaughey to return to a legal role after his breakthrough performance in “A Time To Kill.” We guess cashing paychecks for playing variations of himself in mindless romcoms is getting boring, while his attempt to become an action star (“Sahara”) didn’t exactly work out as planned. We’re mildly curious about this one but it will take someone interesting in the director’s chair to get us truly excited.
