“Michael Clayton”
Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack
3.5 stars out of 4
Let’s face it, Clooney is a genius at picking serious roles, and making them work well with his persona. This time around Clooney plays Michael Clayton, an in house “fixer” or janitor as he calls it, for one of the biggest law firms in New York. Clayton is the guy who shows up at your house after a hit and run and tells you what to do. He’s also burnt out, in debt, and divorced. He has minimal relations with his two brothers, one a cop and one a black sheep druggie.
But the film isn’t all about Clayton, it’s about the world we live in, corporate corruption, greed, and crime, when many head honchos turn away from to save there own name in today’s world. Clayton has steered clear of this sort of thing, until he gets submerged into it physically. One of his good friends, Arthur Edens (Wilkinson) who is an attorney for Clooney’s company, goes bonkers at a crucial meeting; he strips down and starts speaking gibberish. Although this is part of his manic depressant psyche, Clayton begins to sense some truth to what Edens is trying to say. Edens has had an epiphany of sorts. One which realizes that the firm is he defending, U/North is covering up a weed killer they manufactured which killed many families. It’s up to Clayton to get him on track, and to not sabotage the case.
The film is a top notch thriller, with a superb cast, consisting of Tilda Swinton, a litigator for U/North, who hires two spies to keep tabs on Eden and his unusual behavior; she is a monster in a suit, showing her true colors when she tries her hardest cover up the truth about the case. Also, Sydney Pollack, the co-founder of Clayton’s firm, who tries to make sense of it all, along with Clayton. The film is not easy to follow; we start of at one point, and then go back to 4 days prior, slowly and anxiously piecing together the parts of this superb drama, directed by Tony Gilroy, who wrote the Bourne franchise. This is like that in small ways, the dialogue is sharp, and it’s a thinking film first of all. While the film may move at a slow pace, fans of this genre and of the plot will enjoy every second of it.
This is definitely not a run of the mill thriller, if you like films like “Syriana” or are a fan of John Grisham, this is your movie, expect this is better than any of the Grisham movies. Clooney takes command of the screen, and demands attention. What is fascinating about his character is that we meet him at a hard time in his life, and we see how handles pressure when the chips are stacked against him. “Michael Clayton” comes alive on screen, as it makes you believe in modern day heroes, Clooney breathes life into this entire film, and doesn’t look back for one second.
Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack
3.5 stars out of 4
Let’s face it, Clooney is a genius at picking serious roles, and making them work well with his persona. This time around Clooney plays Michael Clayton, an in house “fixer” or janitor as he calls it, for one of the biggest law firms in New York. Clayton is the guy who shows up at your house after a hit and run and tells you what to do. He’s also burnt out, in debt, and divorced. He has minimal relations with his two brothers, one a cop and one a black sheep druggie.
But the film isn’t all about Clayton, it’s about the world we live in, corporate corruption, greed, and crime, when many head honchos turn away from to save there own name in today’s world. Clayton has steered clear of this sort of thing, until he gets submerged into it physically. One of his good friends, Arthur Edens (Wilkinson) who is an attorney for Clooney’s company, goes bonkers at a crucial meeting; he strips down and starts speaking gibberish. Although this is part of his manic depressant psyche, Clayton begins to sense some truth to what Edens is trying to say. Edens has had an epiphany of sorts. One which realizes that the firm is he defending, U/North is covering up a weed killer they manufactured which killed many families. It’s up to Clayton to get him on track, and to not sabotage the case.
The film is a top notch thriller, with a superb cast, consisting of Tilda Swinton, a litigator for U/North, who hires two spies to keep tabs on Eden and his unusual behavior; she is a monster in a suit, showing her true colors when she tries her hardest cover up the truth about the case. Also, Sydney Pollack, the co-founder of Clayton’s firm, who tries to make sense of it all, along with Clayton. The film is not easy to follow; we start of at one point, and then go back to 4 days prior, slowly and anxiously piecing together the parts of this superb drama, directed by Tony Gilroy, who wrote the Bourne franchise. This is like that in small ways, the dialogue is sharp, and it’s a thinking film first of all. While the film may move at a slow pace, fans of this genre and of the plot will enjoy every second of it.
This is definitely not a run of the mill thriller, if you like films like “Syriana” or are a fan of John Grisham, this is your movie, expect this is better than any of the Grisham movies. Clooney takes command of the screen, and demands attention. What is fascinating about his character is that we meet him at a hard time in his life, and we see how handles pressure when the chips are stacked against him. “Michael Clayton” comes alive on screen, as it makes you believe in modern day heroes, Clooney breathes life into this entire film, and doesn’t look back for one second.
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