REVIEW: ‘The Evil Lawyer’ Is Timely As Justice Crumbles

The Evil Lawyer (Thanai Pisat) is an entertaining crime drama that takes a hard look at corruption in a justice system that thrives on and reinforces its influence. Innocence is fleeting in a world that’s bent on exploiting the ignorant and the well-meaning. For it’s only those who know how to game the system that may have a chance at survival. Based on the first six episodes, The Evil Lawyer crafts a hook that is fascinating enough to keep viewers glued to its familiar premise. 

From director Nottapon Boonprakob, The Evil Lawyer focuses on Mek (Nat Kitcharit), a young lawyer who believes justice prevails over all and has yet to be fully exposed to the legal system’s corruption. That is, until an attempt to blackmail him goes horribly wrong, and he’s framed for the murder of the son of Anan (Songsit Roongnophakunsi), a powerful police chief who has more invested in Mek’s ruination than the first episode lets on.

Unfortunately, justice is not on Mek’s side, and every attempt to prove his innocence or find evidence is stopped at every turn. It isn’t until he finally accepts the assistance of Jittri (Rhatha Phongam), the titular “Evil Lawyer” within this system, that a glimmer of hope is sparked.

In exchange for her help, he must help her work cases specifically designed to give her a leg up in her other trials, which he initially takes issue with. However, the more they work together, the more Mek comes to see that such unethical practices may be the only way he can save his skin. Justice is hard-won, but sometimes to achieve it, you’ve got to compromise.

Keeping the focus on Mek may be key to seeing who ends up as the “evil lawyer” in the end.

Despite the opening scenes showcasing the “evil” tactics Jittri deploys in the courtroom, the first few episodes of The Evil Lawyer focus on Mek. This initially seems at odds with the title and opening scenes with Jittri, who is portrayed as the villainous enigma from the jump. Yet, as the series goes on, we not only start to see the cracks in Jittri’s armor but also how Mek is slowly adapting not only to Jittri’s tutelage but also to the pressure of the legal system bent on bringing him down. Perhaps, he will end up as the “evil lawyer” in the end.

It’s a fascinating enough character journey, and the arguments presented in the screenplay give viewers plenty to debate. While not an entirely new argument, fighting fire with fire seems apt against a system designed to crush those who lack the connections and resources to fight back. And the wide range of clients Jittri takes on as a defense lawyer underscores the duty of the defense, even when the person they represent is guilty.

Mek, in a way, represents the audience surrogate, one unaccustomed to this morally decrepit world. For his part, Nat Kitcharit plays Mek’s idealism with more exasperation than the wide-eyed, earnest innocence one would expect from someone with his views. This makes his transition into begrudgingly getting his hands dirty more believable in the end, with subtle mannerisms and clues hinting at how his experience is transforming him.

Say what you want, but Rhatha Phongam’s Jittri is the kind of unlikable character to love.

In stark contrast to him and unafraid to hold him accountable at every turn is Rhatha Phongam’s Jittri. Unapologetic in her tactics and unwilling to back down from a challenge, Jittri is a formidable force, made all the more powerful by the steely resolve Phongam projects in her scenes. Jittri is not all strength, however, and when things get tough, or a nerve is plucked, Phongam uses microexpressions to give us a look into Jittri’s core.

Of course, the main highlight, at least in the earlier episodes of The Evil Lawyer, is the court preparation and actual trial sequences. When the scenes shift to recollections, the transitions from the court to the scenes being recalled are smooth and creative. They easily immerse us in the headspace of those in the hot seat. While a couple of these recollections are light in tone, not all of them are, and each is handled with the respect it deserves in the moment. 

By the end of The Evil Lawyer Episode 6, it becomes clear that everything leading up to this point has been the easy street. From the beginning of the series, it’s not as simple as just Mek’s case. No, there are layers upon layers of corruption, with a wide net of unsavory things to make the conspiracies coming to light more complex with each episode. Dealing heavily with the exploitation of migrant labor and human trafficking, among other serious topics, whatever is yet to come is sure to get nasty fast. The final moments of Episode 6 prove that.

While things are incredibly dark, the efforts of Mek, Jittri, and their group are a beacon of hope.

With Mek and Jittri such strong characters, and with Jittri’s coworkers being memorable in their own right, one noticeable outlier is Ang (Atchareeya Potipipittanakorn), a human rights lawyer. Judging based on the first six episodes, she gets lost in a cast of characters who snag attention outright. By the time we reach Episode 6, she’s starting to find some sea legs, but whether or not she will either bend or break in pursuit of her own brand of justice is unclear at the time of review. 

It’s clear from The Evil Lawyer that it has a lot it wants to dissect in addressing a corrupt system, but also in what it wants the audience to think about. Who is actually evil? And if the system is powered by evil people, can justice actually prevail using fair means? In a world where the scales of justice seem more and more imbalanced, The Evil Lawyer is here to offer food for thought. And while the food might taste familiar, the characters, cases, and timely topics, such as the exploitation of labor, give it enough kick to differentiate this crime drama from the rest.

The Evil Lawyer is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.