Michael Clayton is not the best movie I have ever seen. It isn't the best movie of the year either. However, it does hold the distinct honor of being the only movie this year to grip me in the first few seconds. It opens with shots of downtown Manhattan, with the cinematography effectively enhancing the blue-gray and greenish glows of the lights from one large skyscraper. Delicate music (and I use the term lightly seeing as the score is nothing more than effective sounds and rhythmic beats) hums in the background. A man's voice enters, sounding excited and thrilled, but also trembling with bizarre instability. As his monologue about "seeing the poison" of his work builds and builds, and more shots of empty office hallways flash on the screen and music continues pulsating, the entire scene becomes so tense, that at any moment I was expecting a gunshot or explosion to go off. I hadn't even seen a significant character on screen yet (unless that janitor was hiding something) and I was already fascinated. As this intense monologue ends, we see a gaggle of lawyers scurrying about a room including Marty (Sydney Pollack) who is trying to get rid of a tiresome reporter. Then we see Tilda Swinton (can't remember her character's name) looking shaken, and then Michael Clayton (Clooney, obviously), looking worn in some underground card game. He gets a call, leaves, and visits an extremely irritable (and extremely guilty) man. When the man questions Michael he describes himself as a janitor; he isn't a court lawyer, he is a fixer, someone who pays off and talks to the right people. He cleans up the mess. Michael then leaves and drives off into a side road that leads him to a woodsy area. He sees some horses standing on a hill. He walks out to them and stares until a loud "blam" alerts him to something that just exploded; his Mercedes. He approaches as another explosion goes off, before looking up and running towards the other side of the street. The words "4 days earlier" appear on screen, ending the most riveting opening of any movie the year (Zodiac's opening murder scene comes close though). The film then proceeds to tell the story of Clayton's work involving a senior litigating partner at a major law firm, Arthur Eden (Tom Wilkinson) who broke down and stripped naked in a meeting. Meanwhile the company (the "poison") that Eden ranted about in the voiceover is giving a press conference led by Tilda Swinton. As she answers questions, the scene cuts back to her practicing responses in the mirror ad nauseam. This woman is cool and collected on the outside, but a bit of a wreck underneath the ill fitting business suits. However, details about the actual lawsuit are rather opaque. In fact, you're never really sure what the "3 billion dollar lawsuit" that Swinton is so concerned about is truly about (though you can make a decent guess). While I was sitting in the theater, I was both intrigued but also puzzled; WHY aren't we getting more details about the actual case? After thinking about it more, it starts to make sense. "Michael Clayton" isn't about a trial, but rather how the title character is a fixer; not just in the legal sense but in his life. Throughout the film, Clayton is the only character (save for an alcoholic brother that added nothing) who is visibly worn. Everyone else, friends, associates, opposing council, all look fresh and quick, whereas Clooney's character looks exhausted, even on day one. That being said, this does NOT excuse the film's (nicely directed by writer director Tony Gilroy) script from being a bit over stuffed. For one, there are simply too many inconsequential characters (mostly relatives or friends of relatives...it was hard to tell at times). And then there's Anna, the woman who Eden stripped naked for declaring that he "loved her" (note: he had been off his pills for a few days when this happened). When Eden contacts Anna later in the film (and she is perfectly comfortable wit him) it's too unclear as to what their relationship is. Even those who pay attention to everything, will not know everything. Honestly, I don't know if the director himself knows everything about the story. This does come around to bite the film in the ass at the end because it shifts back to the lawsuit, and because we don't get a feel of true enormity of the lawsuit (yes we know the $ value but not what the accusation is) and yet this is the (supposedly) big satisfying conclusion. For those who were paying attention it will range from "satisfying" to "excellent". For those who weren't (WARNING: Do NOT attend late showings of this film. Being tired will only hurt you) it might be a bit "what the hell?" Now, the breakdown.
1) The ACTING: okay, why on earth is Clooney getting such raves while Wilkinson and Swinton are getting ignored? It's a good performance and it's nice to seem him play a character who isn't cocky, but the subtlety Clooney tries to convey with his face fall flat because he doesn't have the most senstive, emotive face out there. Wilkinson and Swinton (her especially) show so much more in the little twitches and quivers. Swinton's delicate face and enormous eyes simultaneouly display steely confidence and the neurotic person inside, while Wilkinson's confident yet quivering voice show his character's strength while conveying Eden's mental instability. Sydney Pollack was solid, but didn't have enough screen time to stand out.
2) The directing: very nice directorial debut, but not "wow" either.
3) The writing: a mixed blessing. The dialog was intelligent and suited the characters perfectly, but the story made too many things too unclear (apparently the marketing team picked up on this. Just look at that poster...).
4) Production values: Similar enhancement of blue-gray and green and black like that in In The Valley of Elah and Crash. Everything else was nothing to write home about (though it never had to be......).
5) The music: perfect music for a movie like this, but there's no real "theme" (again, for this movie there didn't need to be). The music suits the movie perfectly and does a great job of adding to the suspense.
and the verdict is.........unclear...
Grade: B+/A-
Current Nominations: Best Supp. Actor - Wilkinson (#2), Best Supp. Actress (#2 or 3), Best Original Screenplay (#5).
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