What age is The Devil's Advocate appropriate for?

Rated R in the US. 17, alone or with a parent; 16 in France. The whole movie, watched in full: what's in it, and how to talk about it with your child.

Why is The Devil's Advocate not recommended under 17?

What's in it: the official rating, first; sex shown, rape as a vision; two suicides; a man beaten, an abused child defended. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

zinema · movies · what age

The Devil's Advocate: what age is it for? 17, alone or with a parent

From 17, alone or with a parent.

Movie · 1997 · 2 h 24 · horror, drama, mystery

YRS

The trailer

Alone, or with you

89101112131415161718

not yetwith an adult, or to talk about afteralonethe sweet spot

The official US rating is R, and we never go below it. Alone from 17, and not before, even with an adult.

The sweet spot: around 17-18, when you can watch sexuality shown and two suicides, and want to discuss what success costs. Why a sweet spot?

Official US rating: R. In France, zinema would say 16.

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What it's about

Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax accepts a job at a New York law firm. With the stakes getting higher every case, Kevin quickly learns that his boss has something far more evil planned.

Why 17

The official rating, firstRated R in the US (restricted, under 17 requires an accompanying parent); 12 ans in France. zinema never goes below the country's rating: it explains it.
rule
Sex shown, rape as a visionSeveral sex scenes, including one where the hero's wife becomes another woman in his bed, an orgy in a vision, repeated frontal female nudity; the hero's wife is raped by the devil and loses her mind. A wall of moving naked bodies at the end.
Two suicidesThe hero's wife cuts her throat with a shard of glass in a hospital room, in front of him; at the end, the hero shoots himself in the head to refuse the devil. Visions of faces that distort, demon babies, jump scares.
A man beaten, an abused child defendedA man beaten in a park until he dies, a trial where the hero gets a teacher acquitted who abused a pupil, and knows it. Little swearing, wine and cigars.

What the movie brings

A moral fable about ambition: winning at any price is already losing.
Al Pacino as a talkative devil, whose final monologue is still quoted.
A thriller about what you sacrifice when you succeed too fast.

Watching it together

Before

Warn that sexuality is shown and that there are two suicides, one very bloody; this is a film for older teenagers.

After

at 17 and up

The hero gets a guilty man acquitted because he knows he can win: is winning always right?

See the facts

Long dark scenes, night, storm●●● · shownmeasured

Pace●●● · shownmeasured

Sex scene, suggested or shown●●● · shownreading

Suicide, suicidal thoughts●●● · shownreading

Tense music or sound●●● · shownmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · suggestedmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●●○ · shownmeasured

Disaster, destruction, war●●○ · shownmeasured

Fighting, brawls●●○ · shownmeasured

Frightening imagery●●○ · shownmeasured

Jump scares●●○ · shownmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

Nudity●●○ · shownreading

Sexual violence, assault, coercion●●○ · suggestedreading

Smoking●●○ · shownmeasured

Visible injury, blood●●○ · saidmeasured

Visible injury, blood●●○ · shownmeasured

A moment that calls for a parent●○○ · suggestedmeasured

A weapon shown or used●○○ · saidmeasured

Abandonment, separation, confinement●○○ · shownmeasured

Death of a character●○○ · saidmeasured

Death of a character●○○ · shownmeasured

Swearing●○○ · shownmeasured

Verbal threat or intimidation●○○ · saidmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

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A zinema reading from September 20, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made