The Good Lawyer on Netflix is a messy, watchable French thriller that hits harder as a character study than as pure courtroom drama.

Netflix dropped The Good Lawyer (original French title Un bon avocat) in early November 2026. It is a 114-minute film directed by Tristan Séguéla and starring Laurent Lafitte as Léonard Landry, a flashy criminal defense lawyer whose life crashes in public. After an overdose in the middle of a heated courtroom scene, he lands in rehab. Then he gets one week to try to save his career and prepare for his own hearing. A stubborn intern named Noé (Anthony Bajon) gets pulled into the chaos. Mélanie Laurent and Carole Bouquet round out the main cast.

The setup is simple and effective. Landry is good at his job. He is also a heavy user of cocaine and alcohol, the kind of man who thinks he can handle two high-pressure cases at once while running on fumes. When his body finally gives out in open court, the mask slips. The rest of the movie follows the frantic week that comes after rehab. Landry tries to claw his way back while dealing with a complicated corporate case that has links to Africa, old relationships, and his own demons.

Lafitte carries the whole thing. He plays Landry with restless energy and quiet self-loathing at the same time. In the early scenes he is manic, sharp, and slightly ridiculous. After rehab the performance shifts. The arrogance is still there, but it feels thinner and more desperate. You see the small habits, the way he holds himself, the moments when the old patterns try to take over. It is the kind of work that makes you lean in. Bajon is equally strong as Noé. The intern is older and more worn down than the usual bright young sidekick. Their odd partnership gives the film its best moments. Noé tries to keep Landry from making the same mistakes again. Landry keeps testing the limits. The push and pull between them feels real and sometimes dryly funny.

The movie works best when it stays focused on that relationship and on Landry’s shaky attempt at control. Addiction is not treated as a simple villain. It is shown as something that has shaped how Landry operates, how he talks, and how he sees other people. The film asks whether a talented lawyer can still be “good” when his personal life is a wreck and his methods are often ethically slippery. That question hangs over almost every scene.

The legal thriller side is less consistent. There is a high-stakes corporate case involving a powerful company accused of dirty dealings. There are negotiations, old flames, and last-minute maneuvers. Some of these scenes have real tension and a dark Paris atmosphere. Others feel familiar or a bit rushed. The film draws on the look and mood of earlier anti-hero legal stories, and it sometimes leans too hard on that familiarity. A few plot turns land with less force than they should. If you come expecting a tightly wound procedural with constant twists, you may feel the story wandering.

Still, the movie has a clear point of view. It is less interested in clean justice and more interested in what people will do when the clock is running and their reputation is on the line. Landry is not a pure hero or a pure villain. He is talented, selfish, and sometimes surprisingly human. The supporting performances help. Laurent brings cool intelligence and history to her role as a former partner. Bouquet has quiet authority as a powerful CEO. The cinematography keeps things gritty and close, especially in the night scenes and the quieter moments of recovery.

I liked the film more than I expected. It is not perfect. The legal plot does not always match the strength of the character work. Some stretches feel heavier than they need to be. But Lafitte’s performance and the central relationship with Noé keep it moving. The one-week time pressure gives the story a natural urgency. French cinema often does this kind of flawed professional story well, and The Good Lawyer sits comfortably in that tradition without trying too hard to reinvent it.

If you like courtroom stories that care more about the people than the verdicts, or if you enjoy watching a strong actor dig into addiction and pride, this is worth your time. It is not the most original thriller of the year, and it will not rewrite the rules of the genre. It is, however, a solid character piece with real energy and a few moments that stick. Watch it for Lafitte and for the uneasy partnership at its center. The rest of the film mostly supports that focus even when it wanders.

In the end The Good Lawyer leaves you with an open question rather than a neat answer. What does it mean to be a good lawyer when the man behind the robe is still figuring out how to be a better person? The movie does not force a simple conclusion. That restraint is one of its smarter choices.