Michael Clayton Review
Posted by Joseph Lee on 10.15.2007
No, Mr. Clooney, it doesn't look like you're negotiating.
Starring:
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Tom Wilkinson - Arthur Edens
Tilda Swinton - Karen Crowder
Sydney Pollack - Marty Bach
Story: A "fixer" for a law firm is called in to control a colleague when he begins to sabotage a huge case with his mental breakdown. Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and life when the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together.
Fun Trivia: The Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan that is blown up in this film was first used in filming of The Devil Wears Prada. For the earlier film it was cut in two for use in process shots featuring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. It was then welded back together and repainted in order to be blown up in this movie.
The trailer for this film was confusing for me. I don't know if that was intentional, because of the actual ambiguity of what Michael Clayton does, or if they wanted to piece together a trailer without giving anything away and thus have nothing left. As such, I was not sure exactly what to expect when I sat down to watch Michael Clayton. This may have helped the movie, because when I left, I was blown away. From the starting frame, in which only the title is shown with a delusional phone call to the title character in the background, I was hooked. As the bits and pieces began to show up concerning what was going on, I was drawn in even more. This movie just had something that grabbed me.
I will say first that there were a few flaws. These mainly take place towards the beginning of the movie and are quickly forgotten about as the rest of the film continues. My biggest complaint is the inclusion of scenes that have no relevance to the movie. I felt as though Clayton's entire visit to the man who was in a hit and run could have been left out. Then the man drives out to visit some horses and his car explodes. Soon after we are taken back four days earlier to watch the entire story unfold.
The concept of showing something happen, then showing us how it led up to that may be a little played out, but I thought it worked really well here. From the outset all you know is that this guy works for a law firm of some sort and suddenly his car explodes. You are left questioning why this happened and why he is receiving crazy phone calls. This is the hook that draws the viewer in.
What kept me intrigued are the characters. This film does a tremendous job with building it's character and I applaud that. Thrillers have a tendency to keep you on the edge of your seat, but not actually care about the characters involved. This had both. The intricate plot and suspense was helped by developed characters and highly competent actors playing the roles. The plot also worked in the fact that you will not leave the theatre with any questions. Everything is resolved once the movie is finished.
A lot of people will rave about George Clooney here, and they should. He delivers an intense, layered performance that works well for the story around him. In my opinion, Tom Wilkinson should recieved the most praise. Wilkinson delivers a very manic performance of his own, playing a man who has finally broken down due to various factors. Watching him go into a rant and becoming obsessed with the case was brilliant to watch. The rest of the cast weren't bad either. Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack provided some supporting leverage in a movie with a tremendous cast.
Another thing that I loved were the opening and closing credits. The opening title was just white on black and for a movie such as this it worked. There wasn't any fluff to get through, just the title of the movie and then straight to the story. The closing credits are equally as impressive. It's little things like that which made this movie shine to me.
The 411: With a strong plot and even stronger cast, Michael Clayton delivers an engaging legal thriller. George Clooney is excellent but it's Tom Wilkinson that steals the show. After all of these elements are in place, the viewer is left pleased and content but also wanting more. Michael Clayton could be a sleeper hit with the Academy Awards this winter, in my opinion.
