Michael Clayton (***)
Directed By: Tony Gilroy (writer, also wrote and co-wrote Extreme Measures, Proof of Life, and The Bourne Trilogy)
Starring: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollack
Seen: February 24th 2008
*** Out of ****
If you missed but one small sequence in this film, through say, an inopportune bathroom break, you will not get it. This is one of the best told, most densely presented suspense thrillers I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s not easy entertainment, though, you have to work as the viewer to find the enjoyment. Thus, this film will also enjoy only a limited following, since it is not jaw-dropping action sequences that build the tension, but finely crafted story elements. First time director and long time screenwriter Tony Gilroy does not do much wrong, from the bleak, blue hue in which the film is presented, to the finely nuanced performances pulled out of all the actors, Tom Wilkinson in particular. Is he truly insane, or is there a sense of method behind it?
George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, the law firm Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s in-house “fixer”, the go-to guy when things get out of control. The other fixer, Tom Wilkinson’s Arthur, is just the mess that Marty Bach (Pollack) wants Clayton to resolve. Clayton is the best fixer working for this firm, but things are falling apart in his personal life, with all his attempts to juggle the two making him seem mediocre at both. Not easy to pull of convincingly, but Clooney does just that. A business venture gone sour left Clayton with rather sizable debt, and he also does not want to be a fixer anymore, in fact, he wants out of his profession altogether, in spite of the big money.
Tilda Swinton is Karen Crowder, the corporate lawyer for U/North, an agricultural manufacturer, one of Kenner, Bach & Ledeem’s biggest clients. Arthur wants to expose U/North’s fertilizers’ carcinogenic nature by bringing to light some repressed information, but Karen is willing to do almost anything to stop this from happening, financial and ethical ramifications notwithstanding. Marty orders Clayton to step in, but lines aren’t exactly clear on who’s on what side and threats and violence ensues.
The movie discusses profit-above-all versus honesty, and even though it’s nothing really new, it most definitely indicates the massive grey area between what the characters need to do to be an example to society, and what they actually do to be loyal company hounds.
The story is told mainly through flashbacks, with a strong sense of incoherence gripping you all the while. To fully appreciate it one has to devote your full attention throughout with a patience that I’m afraid most filmgoers will not be able to muster. I can’t think of a better way of ending this review than to quote James Berardinelli: “When it comes to motion pictures, there are essentially two kinds of thrillers: visceral thrillers, which rely on action to generate tension and excitement, and intellectual thrillers, which burn more slowly but are often more satisfying in the end. Michael Clayton falls squarely into the latter category.” I tend to agree on this.
Starring: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollack
Seen: February 24th 2008
*** Out of ****
If you missed but one small sequence in this film, through say, an inopportune bathroom break, you will not get it. This is one of the best told, most densely presented suspense thrillers I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s not easy entertainment, though, you have to work as the viewer to find the enjoyment. Thus, this film will also enjoy only a limited following, since it is not jaw-dropping action sequences that build the tension, but finely crafted story elements. First time director and long time screenwriter Tony Gilroy does not do much wrong, from the bleak, blue hue in which the film is presented, to the finely nuanced performances pulled out of all the actors, Tom Wilkinson in particular. Is he truly insane, or is there a sense of method behind it?
George Clooney plays Michael Clayton, the law firm Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s in-house “fixer”, the go-to guy when things get out of control. The other fixer, Tom Wilkinson’s Arthur, is just the mess that Marty Bach (Pollack) wants Clayton to resolve. Clayton is the best fixer working for this firm, but things are falling apart in his personal life, with all his attempts to juggle the two making him seem mediocre at both. Not easy to pull of convincingly, but Clooney does just that. A business venture gone sour left Clayton with rather sizable debt, and he also does not want to be a fixer anymore, in fact, he wants out of his profession altogether, in spite of the big money.
Tilda Swinton is Karen Crowder, the corporate lawyer for U/North, an agricultural manufacturer, one of Kenner, Bach & Ledeem’s biggest clients. Arthur wants to expose U/North’s fertilizers’ carcinogenic nature by bringing to light some repressed information, but Karen is willing to do almost anything to stop this from happening, financial and ethical ramifications notwithstanding. Marty orders Clayton to step in, but lines aren’t exactly clear on who’s on what side and threats and violence ensues.
The movie discusses profit-above-all versus honesty, and even though it’s nothing really new, it most definitely indicates the massive grey area between what the characters need to do to be an example to society, and what they actually do to be loyal company hounds.
The story is told mainly through flashbacks, with a strong sense of incoherence gripping you all the while. To fully appreciate it one has to devote your full attention throughout with a patience that I’m afraid most filmgoers will not be able to muster. I can’t think of a better way of ending this review than to quote James Berardinelli: “When it comes to motion pictures, there are essentially two kinds of thrillers: visceral thrillers, which rely on action to generate tension and excitement, and intellectual thrillers, which burn more slowly but are often more satisfying in the end. Michael Clayton falls squarely into the latter category.” I tend to agree on this.
Comments