On Friday night I dragged myself and the BF to see “Michael Clayton”. I have never been a fan of a talky legal thriller, or so I thought going in. They all seem to come across as overly self important and righteous in their David vs Goliath stories.Why should this be the same?
Well knock my socks off and colour me a legal thriller fan. It just turns out that the previous films of this genre just were not very good. “Michael Clayton” is.
As you all know the premise of this film is that Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house "fixer" at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. A former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's dirtiest work at the behest of the firm's co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack).
Though burned out and hardly content with his job as a fixer he has run into mounting debt. His recent divorce and a failed business venture with his looser brother is costing him and has left Clayton inextricably tied to the firm.
At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class action suit that Clayton's firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion.
But when Kenner Bach's brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) seemingly looses his mind and sabotages the U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.
I will not give away too much, but I will say this. Tony Gilroy has crafted a taught, gripping and (most importantly) intelligent film. The dialogue is real, especially with the legal jargon not being dumbed down just to appease the movie goer with a lower than average IQ.
George Clooney is convincing and does a grand job at showing the exhaustion of his character. He has always been a charming actor, and one of the most beloved Hollywood stars which means he will always be George Clooney to the eyes of many. He just cannot escape his own enigma.
Sydney Pollack give great supporting work as the Claytons boss and father figure. Tom Wilkinson once again give amazing supporting work. His Arthur is noble, intelligent, funny and going crazy. Wilkinson never lets him slip away into caricature, which could have been easy in the hands of a not so gifted actor. You see him as unbalanced, but you always have his sympathy and he never once lets you forget that he is also brilliant.
Great as all of these men are in this film, it belongs to Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder. This is one of the most powerful and engaging performances by a woman this year in film, and also one of the most subtle and intelligent. Where many other actresses would have played her as some sort of bitch ice queen, Swinton reaches for your sympathy by privately showing her as very insecure. She rehearses speeches and facial movements, as thought she is in the constant fear that people will realize she is an imposter. She makes bad choices and fears them. Karen is in a position to give orders, and make decisions that can have a huge impact, but she is never sure of these decisions. She is getting lost in the dark, and is scrabbling to stay in the light.
The costume designer deserves props for dressing Swinton in clothing that just does not seem to fit right, like some ill-fitting costume worn by an amateur to an audition.
If you like your movies to make you think, and not pander to the unintelligent, seek this one out. I am not saying it will be part of my DVD collection, but I totally enjoyed seeing such a sturdily plotted and executed film. It gave me hope that at least some people in Hollywood are trying to seek out some truth. All characters are shaded in grey, there is no simple black and white. “Michael Clayton” is a prime example of the world we live in. Lies can be covered and the truth can be adjusted. A -
No comments:
Post a Comment