法村真情

看这部剧完全是因为Simon Baker，没想到是一大惊喜，非常赞的剧。Baker年轻时真帅，看来澳洲出帅哥啊，Hugh Jackman，Chris Hemsworth, etc LOL。Nick和Patrick是完全不同的性格，Nick较为keep to himself，因为经历的缘故有其内向和阴郁的一面，与人交谈时目光时有躲闪，话语简洁有时都是激烈短促了，拿手放在嘴边的姿势，西装加大衣的造型非常的适合他，很吸引。第一次看到Baker其实是The devil wears Prada里的一个配角，那时的感觉只是一个vain而没有力度的角色，后来看Mentalist 才被彻底吸引。看来演员固然重要，编剧对一部戏来说才是更加有决定意义的。

这部剧在Pittsburg，虽然也是大城市，但远不及纽约或洛杉矶曝光率那么高了，主要是室内剧，但还是有一些跟城市相关的内容。视角很独特，两条线，主线是关于孩子监护权的官司，另一条是corporate law，一集里都有两个以上的case在进行，节奏非常紧凑。 说起来这部剧没有太多吸引眼球的因素，完全是靠剧情取胜，故事里涉及的小孩子多数都是来自破裂的家庭，好多事黑人，父母不能承担抚养他们的责任，所以要靠法庭上的hearing决定他们监护权的归属，说起来是相当压抑的。Nick虽然是个非常有前途的年轻律师父亲是个有影响的大律师，但因为父母离异生母早逝一直都跟父亲有隔阂，自己又因为吸毒被抓，后来还倒霉搅进命案里。可能也是因为题材的缘故，这部剧只拍了3季，其实编剧已经相当好的用温情调节了这部剧的压抑成分。Mentalist固然好看，但侦探剧不太会让人有想重温的欲望，这部剧更为耐看一些。

You know, I never wanted to be a corporate guy. I wouldn’t have been able to, anyway. See, hard to go corporate when your degree reads night school. Harder still when your skin reads the projects, you know what I’m saying?

Laurie Solt, this is not my world, and I am not about to apologize for wearing my uniform.

Listen, you play your role, right? You’re a social worker who chooses to make no money. Instead, you cry poor to the world. You wear cheap clothes so people know where you’re coming from. My world is expensive. I’m not saying its any better. It just has different rules. So be it.

My problem is I didn’t say, hey, you look like crap, so I would appreciate it if you would refrain from beating me up for looking decent.

Money matters.

Now, that couldn’t have gone better.

So you can back up that crap you were spewing out in there.

Listen, this is how business is done. You receive an offer, you respond to that offer. You wait too long; it gets pulled off the table. Take it or leave it.

I don’t know, if I hadn’t run up such huge school loans, I’ll be working in public service.

I think you’re a shark. You just don’t know it yet.

My father always told me not to worry about making money, but to worry about making a difference.

Money makes a difference. All the man-hours scraping around for minimum wage, they can’t compete with the huge influx of money that you are capable of generating. Make the money first, then if you still feel like it, then go make a difference.

I think you’re putting on an act.

She lingers a little long when she looks at you, and sits with her body completely open to you, and smiles even when you say rude things to her.

The law’s a lot easier to understand than life. You just follow precedents, try to interpret things. If someone dies wrongfully, you can seek damages. The amount a person’s life is worth can be measured financially. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for the way people feel.

You have to stop this thing before it turns into a disaster.

Short-term gain, long-term disaster.

I’m not regular? I’m a criminal? But you’re the customer. So the difference is I did it to raise money to put food on the table, and you just did it for the sex.

I’m whatever I want to be.

I know what it’s like to be eager, to want to please those men so much that you forget who you really are.

I don’t think I want to do this.

You like to blame yourself, don’t you? Well, you tell yourself it’s your fault and you think that’ll make me feel better. But you know what? It doesn’t. It makes you feel better.

I don’t think this is going to work. I mean, the truth is, you’re self-absorbed. You know, you sit around wondering why you’re not closer to your son, but you actually like the distance that you’ve created. Because it lets you sit back, do nothing, and spend more time with yourself.

He can be rude, standoffish…when I first met him, I truly disliked him. But of all the imperfect people I’ve met in this world, and that would be everybody, Nick is one of the few who lives by a set of standards. I do think his mind is set on this. I do think he has the right things in his mind. And he’s the kind of person who will follow through. Might be just to prove other people wrong…but he follows through.

You know, I know I meant to say something extraordinary here, but all I can say is that I won’t let Lesley down. I know that I failed myself, that’s true. I admit that. But I will not fail that girl. I will not fail Lesley.

Not in my nature.

If you fell off the face of the earth, I’d then throw a party every year to mark the anniversary.

So what, Nick? Because you’re not the top expert in the western world, you’re just going to blow me off?

I like to know what I’m getting into.

You know, Bill, our firms have gotten along so well over the years. You know, referred clients, just kept out of each other’s business. I’d just like to cut the crap right here. You know, I never poached any of your lawyers. And I would just like your word as a gentleman that you won’t poach any more of mine.

I’ll be up-front with you, Burton. I am not going to give you any promises that I can’t keep.

I thought you would be angry. I know how you feel about me dating boys.

I came to America to live with dignity and respect. If someone decides to insult me, I’m not just going to smile and say thank you. I’m sorry, Salaam, but just because you hurt this boy’s feelings doesn’t give him the right to do what he did!

I’d be very careful before I believed a word that came out of his mouth.

That is so offensive.

What have I done to offend you? I try my best to be friendly, to do good work, and all you do is treating me like I’m some stupid school girl.

Because I don’t think you want to be a corporate lawyer, Amanda. I can see that you don’t like it now, and I don’t think you’re going to learn to like it later. You seem like a good person who wants to do good things with your life. And if that’s the case, I don’t think you’re going to find what you’re looking for here.

Causality, how one thing can lead to another? Yeah. It’s fate. No. I am not a religious man. All right, then, science. No. Logic. No. just chance, you know? You walk through one door instead of another. You meet one person instead of another. What’s that, free will? Ha. No. Self-determination? pbbbt! No. you life is chaotic when you’re walking into it, but its all order when you look back at it. No. you’re blathering. It’s not chaotic. It’s moment. You’re in a moment now and you were in a moment before. You were there in that moment, and now you’re here. It’s just a moment, that’s what it is.

It’s already happened. You can’t take that away. It’s already happened, and I’ve learned to deal with it. What more can I say? It’s just the way it is.

That will be that.

The sooner you stop thinking people should cut you slack because your parents got divorced and sent you away to prep school, or because your mom has cancer. Cause believe me, no one cares about your problems. Believe me.

But maybe because you don’t really want to do this, you’re able to remove yourself and have this kind of objectivity. I actually do wish that I could be like you sometimes. Just automatic. That’s how I know you are. I’ve been around you long enough. You’re Teflon man. See? This is exactly what I’m talking about. Now, I just insulted you, and you just shrug. You sort of move through space, and nothing touches you. I can’t do that. I’m just not that way. I get very attached to things, and everything breaks my heart.

What have I done to you? If you’re unhappy with your choices, then that is your responsibility.

You don’t know me. You don’t know who I am. I can’t see the people at the moment that…cause my life have changed. I have tendencies that I need to control.

I don’t like asking you to do thing for me.

I wanted to go in the arts, but my father told me to think about what I was about to do before I went and screwed up my life.

That’s just the greatest thing to be able to have, to be so successful.

I’m really kind of bad company tonight. Can we do this another time?

I don’t think I want this place. Just all seems like so much, you know? I don’t think I want to do what I’m about to do.

What happened yesterday that was a mistake. I take full responsibility for what I did, but I shouldn’t have done it. I was nervous about the house and about getting married, and I am curious about you. I’ve been curious.

But as rewarding and exciting as public service was, too often, it was about watching your back instead of doing your job.

Need to talk about it? It happens like this all the time. You do your job, you follow your gut, and it blows up in your face. I’ve been there. Want to get a cup of coffee?

This wasn’t supposed to happen. We need to get past this.
All because of what I’m doing you don’t understand.

Don’t let them push you around.

Nick just can’t seem to unwind.

2 cases per episode normally, one with regard to corporate law and the other usually involves a troubled teenager, the longer Nick represents those juveniles, the more aversive he grows towards the coprorate world, finally, at the end of season 2, he took charge of the legal center following Lulu's suit. Simon Baker was truly outstanding in the show and Wendy Moniz was gorgeous.