Release Date:
February 19, 2008 Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Tony Gilroy Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack,
Pamela Gray Genre: Drama
Review:
George
Clooney's performance drives
this tense corporate
thriller from Bourne
trilogy screenwriter James
Gilroy, who makes his
directorial debut here.
Clooney is the eponymous
"hero," a burnt-out lawyer
who cleans up legal messes
created by the clients of a
large law firm. When a
crisis materializes in the
form of the firm's top shark
(Tom Wilkinson) suffering an
apparent meltdown while
defending a shady chemical
company from lawsuits,
Clayton discovers not only a
cover-up to deny payments to
farmers injured by the
company's products, but a
chance to find some purpose
in the face of his life's
downward. Clooney (who also
co-produced the film) brings
soul and quiet determination
to his beleaguered
character, and there's
excellent support from
Wilkinson, Sydney Pollack
(also a co-producer), and
Michael O'Keefe; Gilroy's
script also does a solid job
of stacking the deck against
Clayton as he attempts to
ferret out the truth behind
the cover-up. Unfortunately,
the film settles for a pat
conclusion that, while
emotionally satisfying,
feels forced and delivers an
overly simplistic message
(corporations can be bad;
morally questionable work
can make one feel dirty).
And Tilda Swinton is wasted
in a thankless role as the
chemical company's
nerve-wracked and
unsympathetic legal counsel.
Still, Clooney fans will
appreciate this fine
addition to his growing
roster of flawed heroes...more
Michael Clayton Release Date: October 5, 2007 (NY, LA, TOR; wide:
Oct. 12) Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Tony Gilroy Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack,
Pamela Gray Genre: Drama MPAA Rating: R (for language including some sexual dialogue) Official Website: MichaelClayton.com
Plot Summary: 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, his divorce, a failed business
venture and mounting debt have 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) sabotages the
U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life
EN 5 Second Review:
My goodness it's nice to see a really good drama once in
a while. Reminds me of the great lawyer dramas of our youth.
When
critics complain about the dumbing down of movies into franchise
popcorn, what we're really doing is yearning for a terrifically
engrossing, tethered-to-the-real-world drama like
Michael Clayton Owen Glieberman: EW
It's better than good; it's such a crackling and mature and
accomplished movie that it just about restores your faith...more
Deliberate,
demanding and character-driven, Michael Clayton
flies in the face of what sells at the multiplex Peter Travers: Rolling Stone I couldn't have liked it more. In a
throwback to the 1970s, when master directors Sidney Lumet (Network,
Dog Day Afternoon) and Alan Pakula (Klute,
The Parallax View) thought moral inquiry was part of the
job, this gripping thriller simmers with tasty provocation.
...more
Michael
Clayton literally knocks its brains out trying to be
clever, but it ends up being the same kind of smart-alecky
filmmaking most of Mr. Clooney’s movies are famous for Rex Reed: NY Observer
Not that there’s anything real about George Clooney’s new
vehicle Michael Clayton, but at least it’s slick,
superficial Hollywood hokum with minor but passable
wentertainment value that doesn’t require subtitles. ...more
$16.99
$24.95
$24.95
Release Date: October 5, 2007 (NY, LA, TOR; wide:
Oct. 12)
EN 5 Second Review:
My goodness it's nice to see a really good drama once in
a while. Reminds me of the great lawyer dramas of our youth.
Michael
Clayton literally knocks its brains out trying to be
clever, but it ends up being the same kind of smart-