I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
A terrifically acted character study that offers little else to reward the movie-goer, except perhaps a nagging sense of being an idiot.
As a technical exercise in its genre, Michael Clayton is excellent. The script is tight, the direction is flashy, the cinematography is cold, and the acting is uniformly good. It’s a shame that, despite this, the film never rises above ticking the boxes, and ends up as a moderately entertaining legal thriller that has a story branded with the dreaded ‘C’ word – Conventionality.
George Clooney is at his best, trading in his matinee-idol goofy charm to become a beleaguered workaholic with an unpleasant divorce being the least of his regrets. Opposite him are Tom Wilkinson as a brilliant attorney turned mad (mad, or just passionate?), and Tilda Swinton as an unattractive career woman (‘career woman’ doesn’t qualify the unattractiveness - she’s just cold). Swinton’s performance is the film’s best; when we first meet her, she’s rehearsing a speech in the mirror, and we never quite get to see a true personality under that blank façade until fear flashes in her eyes.
Tony Gilroy’s plot (scripter of all Bourne films) is engaging enough, but tries to disguise its conventionality with mysterious lines of dialogue and obscure back-stories. The first thirty minutes, in particular, are difficult to follow. Such narrative complexity grows tiresome.
To make matters worse, there’s an early flashback scene where Michael suddenly jumps out of his car to look at some horses. Anyone hoping that this will be explained later will be sorely disappointed. Is it a moment of deep metaphor, or does Michael just have an aesthetic appreciation of fine equine beasts - he must be a tortured artiste underneath. There is no reason for this, and in a legal thriller where everything is ‘real’ and ‘practical’, it’s most certainly a low point.
The horse-thing may seem minor, but plot-wise it’s crucial. And the randomness of said event underlines the weakness in a script that takes itself far too seriously and never once realizes that it’s just a simple evil-corportation-legal-thriller; well made, but no more useful than Erin Brockovich or countless others.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
Michael Clayton played by George Clooney is a fix it man in a law firm. The guy who helps you sweep something under the rug. But he gets the biggest case he's ever had. A multi million dollar class action suit. A brilliant but troubled and mentally disturbed attorney played in a great performance by Tom Wilkinson as Arthur sabotages the case. This is truly great performance from George Clooney as a somewhat broken man trying to get to the bottom of the case of his career. I highly recommend this
Very nice site!
Michael Clayton is a clever plot-twisting thriller that conveys Clooney’s skill for portraying socially conscientious, but flawed characters that have an axe to grind. The film is written and directed by Tony Gilroy and stars George Clooney, Michael O’Keefe, Sydney Pollack, and 2008 Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton. Clooney plays Michael Clayton, a high-priced-law-firm's fixer; the go-to-guy when crises need to be avoided. And as a former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of New York’s Kenner, Bach, & Ledeen's dirty work upon request of the firm's co-founder, Marty Bach (Pollack). Clayton is at a somewhat delicate point in his life - burnt out; going through a divorce, and mounting debt from a failed business venture and not to mention the problematic gambling. It seems Clayton is fixed to his ‘fixer’ role for the long-term. Meanwhile, at U/North the career of litigator Karen Crowder (Swinton) rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class-action law-suit that Clayton's firm is leading to what seems to be a successful conclusion. However, Kenner, Bach, & Ledeen's brilliant but guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Eden (O’Keefe) sabotages the U/North case; reeling Clayton headfast into the biggest challenge of his career; unravelling a web of deceit, lies and the evils of what Crowder can do, when backed into a corner. The performances from the cast are memorable and compelling portrayals of strong characters. Watch-out for O’Keefe’s version of a troubled lawyer turned whistle-blower; and Swinton’s Academy Award performance of a cold and calculating corporate monster. Gilroy has written a strong and earnest thriller that plays well of narrative and although flashbacks has been misused by Hollywood in recent years, Gilroy has used it effectively; and in turn has strengthened Clayton’s character journey. Gilroy has also been subtle is his story-telling techniques and trusted his audience to be able to interpret the plot-points on their own without the in-your-face theatrics that some directors tend to use in modern cinema. Michael Clayton is a film that most people will find gratifying and entertaining. It is a well acted and well written film that will understandably stand the test of time.
Flicks get this one right. Even down to the slightly drawn out start, but a captivating movie. Worth going to.
There was significance in the horses. The drawing of three horses on the horizon was seen in his dead friends’ copy of his sons' book, but only very fleetingly. They really should have lingered to clarify that ‘sign’. I went to this since I am a big Tilda fan- ooooh those icy acting chops serve well. She said she made the movie because she liked those kinds of movies when she was young. And since she’s in her forties, that means its old fashioned, and it is. A good ol' modernist tale. She’s very good at stopping being Tilda and being a cyborg, very scary. But poor ‘old’ (yes, he’s getting baggy around the eyes) George doesn’t have anything on our Russey doing a similar but much more believable whistleblower in ‘The Insider’. George is never really convincing as desperate; too cool, and too cow eyed. The plot is well worn, but those lingering filmatic abstractions lift the freshness quota. Overall entertaining enough if you don’t expect too much and love Ms Swinton.
Corporate evil plots are nothing to write home about, but what lifts Michael Clayton are the star turns from Clooney, Wilkinson and finally Tilda Swinton's hard-ass litigator for U-North. Similarly, those in charge of cinematography, editing and music all do their job with large doses of polish. It's all very smooth, but the problem is it's also a bit anodyne and unlikely to hold up in comparisons to Clooney's other 'serious' films, whose stories have more to offer underneath the polish...
It's all held together by the magnetic presence of George Clooney, however, who manages to be compelling even when he's just sitting in the back of a taxi, staring straight ahead.
There's nothing wrong with this slick, much-plaudited movie – how can there be when Time magazine's film critic named it his best from last year? But what was most fascinating about it for me was that in a world of indecent salaries and vast bonuses there's a job that exists like Clayton's – smoothing things out, match- making client and lawyer – and that in this movie at least it was paid relatively badly.
This offers moments of suspense, some pointed scenes and star charisma, but it’s also a touch confused. Heads will be scratched before they roll.
As with the Bourne films, Gilroy has a knack for creating strong characters and situations that resonate with tension. It may be formula, but the guy is a solid chemist as he crafts excellent set-ups and payoffs...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 31st Jan 2008.
Release date: January 31st 2008.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
