History Film / TheDevilsAdvocate

-->[[spoiler:'''Milton]]:''' Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man ''instincts''. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, His own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. ''Look'', but don't ''touch''. ''Touch'', but don't ''taste''. ''Taste'', don't swallow! Ahaha! And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is He doing? He's laughin' His ''sick, FUCKIN' ass off!'' He's a ''tight-ass!'' He's a ''sadist!'' He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? ''Never!''

* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler: Milton may have poked and prodded Kevin along just a bit, but he's not entirely wrong when he says Kevin had every possible chance to save Mary Anne even before Milton raped her. He just cared more about himself more than her.]]

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Creator/CraigTNelson's character is an obvious Expy of Creator/DonaldTrump, down to living in The Donald's ''personal apartment'' in Trump Tower. Much like in TheCameo above, it's unclear as to whether Trump was aware of what the film was actually about.

* VillainsNeverLie: Combined with ExactWords, however, since Milton tells Kevin that he merely "sets up the scene" [[spoiler: said set-up includes him using supernatural powers to manipulate time and perception until he finally gets the result he wants, giving the impression that he doesn't affect free will because he actually can't, and not because he refrains from doing so. His claim of not being a puppeteer is only true FromACertainPointOfView.]]

* CastingGag: Creator/JeffreyJones plays the law firm's managing partner, Eddie Barzoon, but it's not the first time he's played [[Film/StayTuned someone who works for the Devil.]]

* TheDevilIsALoser: Heavily downplayed. Milton has a successful law firm with many powerful people as clients, but what he desires is [[spoiler: retribution against God and to rule the world. Which Kevin [[HeroicSuicide denies him]] at the end, leaving him to scream impotently]]

''The Devil's Advocate'' is a 1997 {{Thriller}} / ReligiousHorror film directed by Creator/TaylorHackford and written by Creator/TonyGilroy, starring Creator/KeanuReeves, Creator/AlPacino and Creator/CharlizeTheron, and based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman.

** When Kevin is almost ready to lie with Christabella, he hesitates and asks: "What about love?" Christabella turns to Milton with a confused expression that says less: "Dad, help me with this" and more "What the hell is he talking about?". Milton comes in with his reassurance: "Overrated. Biochemically, it's no different than eating a lot of chocolate."

** Similarly, the two homeless men who [[spoiler: beat Eddie Barzoon to death]] are seen with similar {{Game Faces}}; Mary Ann also happens to be watching this scene, suggesting that it could be a hallucination, but Milton has deliberately set things in motion so that [[spoiler: Eddie ends up dead before he can turn on him]], so they could also be supernatural in nature.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Mary Ann is ultimately driven crazy by Milton’s machinations, Kevin’s emotional distance, and finally by Milton brutally raping her.]]

** When Kevin is almost ready to lie with Christabella, he hesitates and asks: "What about love?" Christabella turns to Milton with a confused expression that says less: "Dad, help me with this" and more "What the hell is he talking about?". Milton comes in with his gem of a reassurance: "Overrated. Biochemically, it's no different than eating a lot of chocolate."

* DeathlessAndDebauched: John Milton is an increasingly obvious case of DevilInDisguise, and is seriously enjoying his immortality on Earth. Despite being the senior partner of a highly prestigious law firm, a good deal of his time is spent having fun: when he's not lounging around in his luxurious office, he's taking Kevin Lomax on a search for a chicken that can play tick-tack-toe, attending parties without bothering to network, conducting orgies, spectating at boxing matches, dancing with a flamenco band, and enjoying a night out at a fancy restaurant (where he can be seen getting a blowjob). He's also enjoyed long-term sexual trysts over the decades and fathered many illegitimate children as a result [[spoiler: though he doesn't reveal that Kevin was one of said children until the very end.]] However, it's eventually revealed that Milton is capable of being in multiple places at once, so dividing time between working, indulging himself, and corrupting Kevin is all too easy.

* ExecutiveExcess: John Milton, head of the highly prestigious law firm of Milton, Chadwick and Waters, somehow finds the time to drop everything and take Kevin Lomax on a search for a chicken who can play tic-tac-toe, attend a party in which he takes part in none of the networking enacted by the other guests, and drag Kevin along on a tour of New York's nightlife featuring a boxing match, a night out at a fancy restaurant, and another party in which Milton is seen receiving a blowjob. All this when they're ''supposed'' to be getting ready for a trial. Of course, this turns out to be fully justified given what Milton really is: not only does he not actually need to sleep, but he's fully capable of being in multiple places at once, being witnessed working, corrupting Kevin, and [[spoiler: raping Kevin's wife at the same time across the city]].