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Michael Clayton (2007)

Director: Tony Gilroy

Time Out rating

Average user rating

18 reviews

Synopsis

Michael Clayton is an in-house ‘fixer’ at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York, doing dirty work at the behest of his boss. Though exhausted and unhappy, his divorce, a failed business venture and mounting debt have left Clayton tied to the firm. At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder 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 their brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens sabotages the case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.

Movie review

From Time Out London

There are shades of ‘Erin Brockovich’ in screenwriter Tony Gilroy’s directorial debut: a gorgeous, lovable A-lister (here George Clooney) gets caught up in skulduggery surrounding a massive class action lawsuit brought against a heartless megacorporation. Nor is Gilroy’s technique a million miles from Soderbergh’s, what with its tricksy chronology, fragmented, impressionistic montage and canny use of, er, George Clooney.
Clayton is a stalwart at a prestigious New York legal firm, a go-to man for awkward situations requiring a delicate touch; his private life, meanwhile, is a jumble of divorce, debt and family strife. He’s charged with damage limitation when his close colleague, company legend Arthur (Tom Wilkinson), cracks up six years into his defence of multinational company UNorth’s dodgy weedkiller record. With his boss (Sydney Pollack) distracted by a potential buy-out of the firm and UNorth’s highly strung general counsel (Tilda Swinton) on a hair-trigger, the personal welfare of Arthur and Michael is not a top priority.

This story is not without its formulaic, even clichéd, elements – the fixer who can finesse away everyone’s problems but his own, the corporate lackey redeemed by taking a stand – but its structure is unpredictable and stimulating. Through a cool, muted palette and excellent cast, Gilroy establishes a strong sense of the corporate milieu and its discontents, paying attention to the frail, messy human bodies beneath the power suits. The film also offers a handful of striking coups, including a terrifyingly efficient murder, a bristling climactic confrontation and a final, sombre shot of Clooney in a cab that makes him seem less like Cary Grant in ‘North by Northwest’ than Bob Hoskins in ‘The Long Good Friday’.

Author: Ben Walters 2007-09-24 16:55:46

Time Out London Issue 1936: September 26-October 2 2007

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User reviews of this film

MrMustard said...

Posted on Dec 02 2008 10:18 Expertly performed and executed, but on the whole rather self important- perhaps it was so pre-concieved, so confident in its accomplished technique, it almost left you with nothing to respond to. Almost. The saving grace for me- and what I think was a source of criticism for others- was the significance of the three horses. Perhaps beneath the mechanical sheen, the sharp corporate Mamet-talk and the ultra-cool modernist narrative, there was something rather strange and surreal at work, a dark Lynchian underpinning at odds with the surface glossy realism. Let me explain a little more: the word ‘miracle’ re-occurred again and again- almost like a mantra throughout the movie. No less than three characters use the word. The image of the horses is foreshadowed in the book that Tom Wilkinson is reading, in an illustration which George Clooney later sees as enters the former’s loft apartment. This is the same book that Clooney’s son recommends to Wilkinson in an earlier phone call. As Clooney drives, it is this image come-to-life on the horizon which unsettles him and makes him leave the car -ultimately saving his life. This is the miracle which finally comes to pass and for my money adds a whole darker dimension to the film which otherwise would have left me rather cold.

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s fanshaw said...

Posted on Mar 30 2008 20:53 my husband and i found the story to be slow. The actors themselves were not at all loveable. i myself found out i can sleep with my eyes open. i do believe in the art of a good film, but this really isnt one of them.

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iain said...

Posted on Mar 24 2008 12:47 a very dark, and at times, confusing film that i only started to get into in the second half of the film. despite clooney putting in a good performance, i found this quite disappointing and would struggle to recommend it.

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Technoguy said...

Posted on Feb 22 2008 19:56 I liked the dark sombre tones of this film dealing as it did in the grey murky areas of a lawsuit against corporate greed.Clooney held the eye as did Swinton,Pollack and Wilkinson as the fixer gone AWOL. I had a definite problem working out what the pivotal lawsuit was about till long into the film:it wasn't spelled out clearly enough and remained obscure as the plot ran in different directions.The subject of corruption and cold blooded murder was serious and there was paranoia leaking out of every frame.The story ended somewhat too patly,even if dramatically for me to be totally convinced.i felt at times the dialogue or phonecalls were too obscure and technical for a movie audience and it definitely lost marks in this area.However a worthy contender for oscars I think.

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Paul Street said...

Posted on Dec 19 2007 11:04 The more I think about this film the more impressed I am by it. It did take me 20 minutes to understand what was happening, but after that it just gripped more and more. Beautiful direction and photography, and superb acting by just about everyone concerned. Films made not only for grown ups, but grown ups with some intelligence are so rare these days, you almost want to grovel with gratitude! Sad that the cinema was almost empty, but then I guess most movie goers these days don't fit either category above. Thank goodness that Hollywood still has actors of clout like Cloony who can get films like this made.

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Peter Masters said...

Posted on Nov 09 2007 19:59 Michael Clayton is a sort of domestic Syriana with a law firm substituting for multiple oil interested parties in Syriana. Cupiditas , wearing a business suit and pearls, is the female counsel for a big corporation hiding its guilt in poisoning many people with its client's product. To save itself, Tilda Swinton, as the chief attorney for the client corporation perspires uneasily, but nevertheless orders the murders of two people to insure a deal to save $$ for the company. Elegantly shot and shrewdly written, the actors have a field day in this absorbing, cautionary tale of greed.

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alan routs said...

Posted on Oct 25 2007 10:32 Why does G.C. get involved with obscure movies such as Syriana and now this piece of pretentious nonsense?

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cecile said...

Posted on Oct 15 2007 06:02 Diappointingly slow and confusing. Totally over rated.

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moviebuff said...

Posted on Oct 12 2007 12:36 Recommended. Slick, well constructed film with powerful acting. The attraction is in the dialogue, so won't appeal to those with limited attention span expecting a lorra lorra CRASH, BANG & WALLOP.

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Ailsa said...

Posted on Oct 09 2007 16:53 A truly excellent, memorable film. Clooney plays the part with real intelligence, while the support of Swinton, Wilkinson and other players gives this movie real gravitas. A film to make you think about life - and about what sort of life you have yourself. Definite Oscar nomination material.

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matt said...

Posted on Oct 09 2007 00:31 if you're a 15 year old girl like lois and would rather spend your time texting then trying to understand somthing with over 10 minutes of dialogue in it - then this film is not for you. However if you are not of sub normal intellect and can appreciate a film which doesn't scream exposition at you constantly in between bouts of crap wanna-be dance music and giant robots with swords- then you will get somthing out of it. its a fine psycho-thiller. enjoyable. go see it. not as good as that french thriller "Tell No One" better then that crappy cruzer "the firm"

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Pete said...

Posted on Oct 06 2007 19:45 Michael Clayton is one of those guys law firms have around to sort out problems on the edge of legality - he's a fixer who's been denied true financial recognition during the 17 years he's wrangled away in the background wringing the dirt away from the wrongdoings of wealthy clients.
Only this time it's one of their own that's gone off the rails - the legal equivalent of a rampaging bull - top corporate lawyer Arthur has had a Paulian conversion and turned against the business fat cats that have pumped out his fees defending a massive class action by dirt poor farmers.
The film starts with a voice over dirge of madness that makes you want to leave the theatre - don't; the film unfolds with very few clues as to where its heading - and will take you on an enfolding discovery of how callous business is and how expendable life becomes when corporate sustainability starts to unravel.

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claire white said...

Posted on Oct 05 2007 16:12 this film is far too long and boring people also left halfway through. i always enjoy films with george clooney in but this was disgracefully bad. the story line picked up towards the end but it did not compensate for the previous hour of utter rubbish

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lois said...

Posted on Oct 03 2007 11:55 I agree with sarh,if got a tention of a nat don't go,it's all over the place, i had to stay to the end to see what it's all about but i wouldn't see it again, only if i was a film critic or over 26 or somethin then maybe! if you wanna see it then see it, if its last resort like ours was then don't bother!!!!

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andy p said...

Posted on Oct 02 2007 20:42 I thought this was rather good - don't think I was watching the same film as sarah ward below - I think she was watching 2 days in paris instead - this is a million times better than that piece of poo. Clooney is actually really convincing, to the extent that you almost forget it's george clooney.

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