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Michael Clayton

Written by Nobuhiro Hosoki

 

An author of the meticulously constructed "Bourne" trilogy, Tony Gilroy takes his crack at his first feature in "Michael Clayton." The film plot pivots around Michael Clayton (George Clooney) aka "Fixer," who works in a prestigious New York law firm. Once a DA, now he is the designated cleaner-upper of the client's messes and misdeeds. This task requires him to inhabit a middle ground of morality, even though he always does an amazing job.

Recently his life doesn't serve him well after divorcing his wife and seeing his business venture, a restaurant, go down due to his alcoholic brother. In the face of financial predicament, his boss, Marty(Sydney Pollack), a co-founder of the firm, gives him the tough assignment of putting the lid on a top litigator, Arthur (Tom Wilkinson), who fell in a case of manic depression, stripping his clothes. While handling a major class action suit, he suddenly decides to change his side and blow the case. Clayton makes a devil's bargain to turn the Arthur situation around.

From the opposite perspective, Karen Crowder (Tida Swinton), U/North's in-house chief counsel, has just been promoted. Her concern is with the rural midwestern community that has a case against U/North, claiming their toxins are leaking into the water supply and causing a horrendous cancer epidemic. Crowder's attitude is to do anything to cover up for the company. From then on, the mind game is riveting.

The way Director Gilroy initially lays out all the characters, it's kind of hard to digest the plot at the same time, but slowly we are engaged in the character-driven performances that resonate with tension. Clooney plays on the outside a pretentious "Ocean" series facade, this time tackling a conflicted soul that is rotting from the inside. Still, his charismatic presence in this multilayered performance enhances this intellectual thriller. Tom Wilkinson and Tida Swinton's performances raise the bar of the tale of greed that lies under the surface of humanity's morality. There is always someone to do the dirty jobs!

Written and directed by Tony Gilroy
Director of photography: Robert Elswit
Edited by John Gilroy
Music by James Newton Howard
Production designer:Kevin Thompson
Produced by Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Steven Samuels and Kerry Orent
Released by Warner Brothers Pictures.
Running time: 119 minutes.

Cast: George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Tom Wilkinson (Arthur Edens)
Tilda Swinton (Karen Crowder)
Sydney Pollack (Marty Bach),
and Austin Williams (Henry Clayton).