Michael Clayton
MICHAEL CLAYTON (12)
D: Tony Gilroy
Warner/Section Eight/Mirage/Castle Rock (Sydney Pollack,
Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent & Steven Samuels)
US 2007
119 mins
Drama/Thriller
W: Tony Gilroy
DP: Robert Elswit
Ed: John Gilroy
Mus: James Newton Howard
George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Tom
Wilkinson (Arthur Edens), Tilda Swinton (Karen Crowder), Sydney Pollack (Marty Bach)
It wouldn't be hugely off the mark to describe this film as a
mix between The Fugitive & Erin Brockovich, featuring an impressive performance from George Clooney as the title character.
As a "fixer" for a corporate law firm, he finds that he may
have bitten off more than he can chew when they represent a guilty chemical company over a billion dollar law suit.
The pacing of the first 30-40 minutes does occasionally drag,
but the opening act must be watched studiously to have an understanding grasp of what follows in the second & third acts.
Though it's amongst Clooney's best performances, the film's
best players are Tom Wilkinson & Tilda Swinton (Swinton won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, while Wilkinson may well have if it wasn't for an astoundingly good performance from Javier
Bardem in No Country For Old Men the same year).
An intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable legal thriller shot
with some unique directorial flair.
8/10
