Michael Clayton Review
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Seeing as how they don’t come to the big screen as often as before, it is always enjoyable to catch a legal thriller from Hollywood in about a once-a-year deal. While the initial idea may be to just solve a twisted crime of puzzles, every legal story still manages to find some originality in its content. Veteran “well-aged” star George Clooney has proven many times that he is capable of fitting different roles, both physically, and actively (one of which was NOT ‘Batman & Robin’), but his portrayal of the title character in ‘Michael Clayton’ pits him in a bit of an unfamiliar setup that mixes certain elements of Tom Cruise in ‘The Firm,’ and Nicolas Cage in ‘The Weather Man;’ a mixture that may be a little difficult to grasp at first, but ends up being a real shocker filled with plenty of surprises.
The best way to describe Michael Clayton is a former criminal prosecutor who has now settled for being a “fixer.” Serving as a janitor to one of the largest corporate law firms in New York, Clayton must mop up the messes of partners and clients, as well as try to clean up his crumbling personal life. As he fights through a divorce, a failed business, and a compiling debt, Clayton’s reliability to the firm lands him a job babysitting a popular, yet controversial star lawyer (Tom Wilkinson). As Clayton settles for this annoying assignment, his firm begins to take on a multi-million dollar settlement that appears a simple case closed, but when a disgruntled attorney sabotages the case, Clayton is forced to jump into action and search for answers in the biggest challenge of his legal career.
Tony Gilroy (writer of the ‘Bourne Trilogy’) takes on his first project in the director’s chair with ‘Michael Clayton’ as he constructs the screenplay and the camera work of this first-rate thriller. Just don’t expect Gilroy to spoon feed this thing to you because if there’s one thing that becomes quickly obvious with ‘Michael Clayton,’ it’s that the climax is a long way away, and patience is part of the key to reaching it. The main pieces of this puzzle may not seem to fit for quite a while, but the buildup of the drama does maintain a feel of entertainment that will grab attention as you wait for the stunning result. The trick to understanding any of it, though, is maintaining complete attention all the way to the final cut. Clean out your system and load up the snacks BEFORE you rip your stub on this one, because one trip to the restroom or concessions, and you might as well just not come back.
George Clooney’s performance in ‘Michael Clayton’ is certainly one of outstanding talent as he brings total commitment to the part, but it would be too difficult to make any Academy predictions at this point, and even if you could, it’s George Clooney; does anyone ever expect him to go wrong? ‘Batman & Robin’ wasn’t his fault; that was just terrible casting and Clooney, himself, admitted that that was not one of his favorite projects.
John Grisham readers, and legal thriller fans have found what is certain to be their finest treat at the big screen this year, but even for typical moviegoers, ‘Michael Clayton’ still maintains a strong dramatic feel that few others have found this year. It may get a little tedious at certain points, but the end result still pulls the film through any small plot holes, and way past any negative criticism.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 12 2007. Filed under Features.
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