Michael Clayton (2007)
Dir. Tony Gilroy
Script: Tony Gilroy
Cast: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson
Fav. Quote: “Where, my car?”
After the Academy announced their nominations this week, I was left with only one film from the five Best Picture nods to watch, Michael Clayton. Boy, was I unaware of what I was missing.
Firstly, the thought of seeing a Tony “I had a hand in the Armageddon script” Gilroy stirs an ocean of trepidation in my soul. Armageddon is easily one of the most heavy handed, poorly executed screenplays ever word processed. The thought of those characters speaking those ear splitting lines sends me into convulsions. However, he’s also done some nice work and with the inclusion of George “classic movie star quality” Clooney, I entered my screening with hope.
Michael Clayton is tight. You can read that as street slang “tight” or as I intended, a piece of lean precision. There is no fat on Clayton. From frame one, every moment is a necessary piece of the puzzle. You get sucked in quickly as the story begins at the end. Michael Clayton is a bag man. He’s a fixer for a powerful New York law firm, called in to handle the unhandle-able. He has a son, but no wife. He had a restaurant, but now sits deeply in debt. He is a powerful man, with little to show for his years of service, at once success and failure. And for some reason his car blows up.
From here we flashback 4 days when Michael must fly in to cover for his friend and coworker Arthur (Wilkinson) who has snapped after 15 years defending a chemical that has killed hundreds. Arthur knows the truth and deals with it by stripping naked during a deposition sending the clients into a frenzy. Michael defends his friend but the wheels are in motion for more severe containment measures. The next 4 days are filled with intrigue and suspense.
The funny thing is how towards the end I kept thinking about how Clayton is a better spy movie than The Bourne Ultimatum was this year. Coincidence, Gilroy wrote both of them. I guess he used his better ideas on Clayton coupled with the directorial duties that allowed him to craft the story to his liking. I think he could be a real talent for years to come pulling this double duty.
Advertised as the story of a lawyer, fear not, this movie is all about spy games and not about court room drama speeches. You’ll get poison, car bombs, tapped phones, evil corporate greed, and a scene where Clooney faces off with a horse. Literally, not like he fight sit or anything, they just have a staring contest.
Clooney is terrific. He is just a movie star. The kind of guy who would look good in black and white. I would say this is my favorite lead performance of the year so far. His Michael is complex and human. He is a man who was lost before he came to this crossroad. A man who gambled on a better life and came up zero. For a superstar at his job, he is perfectly mediocre at everything else. It is a performance based on nuance and looks. I wouldn’t call him an anti-hero, but as a protagonist Clayton is atypical at best.
There is little here to shock you, but plenty to satisfy. Michael Clayton will keep you on the edge of your seat holding your breath while remaining true to the medium of film and entertaining even the most fickle of movie goers.
The firm of Busu, Busu & Busu goes pro bono for Michael Clayton with an 8 out of 10.
Dir. Tony Gilroy
Script: Tony Gilroy
Cast: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson
Fav. Quote: “Where, my car?”
After the Academy announced their nominations this week, I was left with only one film from the five Best Picture nods to watch, Michael Clayton. Boy, was I unaware of what I was missing.
Firstly, the thought of seeing a Tony “I had a hand in the Armageddon script” Gilroy stirs an ocean of trepidation in my soul. Armageddon is easily one of the most heavy handed, poorly executed screenplays ever word processed. The thought of those characters speaking those ear splitting lines sends me into convulsions. However, he’s also done some nice work and with the inclusion of George “classic movie star quality” Clooney, I entered my screening with hope.
Michael Clayton is tight. You can read that as street slang “tight” or as I intended, a piece of lean precision. There is no fat on Clayton. From frame one, every moment is a necessary piece of the puzzle. You get sucked in quickly as the story begins at the end. Michael Clayton is a bag man. He’s a fixer for a powerful New York law firm, called in to handle the unhandle-able. He has a son, but no wife. He had a restaurant, but now sits deeply in debt. He is a powerful man, with little to show for his years of service, at once success and failure. And for some reason his car blows up.
From here we flashback 4 days when Michael must fly in to cover for his friend and coworker Arthur (Wilkinson) who has snapped after 15 years defending a chemical that has killed hundreds. Arthur knows the truth and deals with it by stripping naked during a deposition sending the clients into a frenzy. Michael defends his friend but the wheels are in motion for more severe containment measures. The next 4 days are filled with intrigue and suspense.
The funny thing is how towards the end I kept thinking about how Clayton is a better spy movie than The Bourne Ultimatum was this year. Coincidence, Gilroy wrote both of them. I guess he used his better ideas on Clayton coupled with the directorial duties that allowed him to craft the story to his liking. I think he could be a real talent for years to come pulling this double duty.
Advertised as the story of a lawyer, fear not, this movie is all about spy games and not about court room drama speeches. You’ll get poison, car bombs, tapped phones, evil corporate greed, and a scene where Clooney faces off with a horse. Literally, not like he fight sit or anything, they just have a staring contest.
Clooney is terrific. He is just a movie star. The kind of guy who would look good in black and white. I would say this is my favorite lead performance of the year so far. His Michael is complex and human. He is a man who was lost before he came to this crossroad. A man who gambled on a better life and came up zero. For a superstar at his job, he is perfectly mediocre at everything else. It is a performance based on nuance and looks. I wouldn’t call him an anti-hero, but as a protagonist Clayton is atypical at best.
There is little here to shock you, but plenty to satisfy. Michael Clayton will keep you on the edge of your seat holding your breath while remaining true to the medium of film and entertaining even the most fickle of movie goers.
The firm of Busu, Busu & Busu goes pro bono for Michael Clayton with an 8 out of 10.
