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| Michael Clayton | 
| Category: Movie
Buy New: $14.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  202 reviews
Sales Rank: 3269
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Video Download
Running Time: 120 minutes
ASIN: B00149KENO
Theatrical Release Date: October 12, 2007
Release Date: August 8, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Slow and Somber, But Sharp and Intelligent May 2, 2008
Sharp and intelligent thriller "Michael Clayton" follows a titular character played by magnetic George Clooney, a lawyer (or a "fixer") at a major New York law firm. He is facing a crisis in life, reaching 45 and heavily in debt; he doesn't like his clients, he doesn't like his jobs, and he knows he hasn't achieved anything in his life. And he must choose what he should do before the film ends, but can he really do the right thing?
Directed by Tony Gilroy (his debut film) known as writer for the "Jason Bourne" trilogy, "Michael Clayton" builds up its story very slowly in the first half and you need to be patient at times as if to pick up and put together pieces of a puzzle. I said it is a thriller, but not in the way as three action-packed Bourne films. It also deals with a similar topic as "Erin Brockovich," but you can see the truths from the beginning.
The thrills of "Michael Clayton" come from the round characters and their moral conflicts - Clooney's Clayton, Tilda Swinton's chief counsel for a big company "U/North" and Tom Wilkinson's brilliant, but now mentally unstable lawyer whose long monologue in the opening sets the tone of the film. Their acting is all wonderful, worthy of Oscar nomination and winning.
You will find "Michael Clayton" has several things that can be seen in other legal thrillers, but they are not used in a cliched way. After all the film's tense atmosphere comes from the inner conflicts of the characters, both "good" and "bad" ones, who must do what they really don't want to do. Being somber and serious, this is definitely not a film to everyone's taste, but I liked it for what it is.
 One of the most boring movies April 28, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I for one can sit threw boring movies but this one takes the cake. I feel asleap durning the first 20 minutes and wroke up at around 10 minutes before the movie ended. I was tired and all but when i see a interesting, good movie and about to fall asleap i turn it off and take a nap and see the movie later. I had no desire to do this with this movie.
I now never going to see a George Clooney movie ever again. Good night and good luck was boring it felt like a second rate tv movie. The movies he does with his buddy Soderbergh suck as well. The worst one is the Good German which features the worst miscast in movie history. Tobey Mcguire as a villian who beats his women is so bad it is laughable. His only good movie is Three Kings. His problem is that he only knows how to play himself and his movies are made for the older demographic.
 better than many April 27, 2008
This movie has a decent entertainment value.
The main problem is overall flair of mental retardation: the principal is an NYC lawyer, he is 45, he is working for a big law firm 12 years and and he does not have $75k to pay off a matter-of-life-and-death debt.
OK he has an issue with gambling, but he is apparently comfortable with what he is doing for living. However the law firm partners are retarded enough to use this not so bright guy as a "fixer" of very confident matters both for them and their clients.
Second, problem is G.Clooney - he is not doing a particularly good job playing this guy.
But beyond that, it is a semi-decent movie.
 TONY GILROY, OPUS 1 April 26, 2008
****1/2 2007. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy. Academy award earned by Tilda Swinton and 6 other nominations. A powerful law firm gets rid of a lawyer who's about to tell the truth about a multibillion case. MICHAEL CLAYTON reminds us of the time of Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View or Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor, a time when American producers weren't afraid to combine the hope for profit and smart screenplays. Highly recommended.
George Clooney: More Than Just A Pretty Face April 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If there was ever any doubt that George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck) is more than just a pretty face, MICHAEL CLAYTON should put them to rest. Although women across the world will probably still drool at his magnetism here in this film, he pulls this engrossing movie along and carries most -- if not all -- of its weight.
The story surrounds a pair of attorneys, Michael Clayton (Clooney) and Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) who are employed as "janitors" at a powerhouse law firm. The "janitor lawyers" clean up messes left by their clients. But when Arthur (Wilkinson) appears to have a mental break during a multimillion dollar negotiations with a pesticide company (shades of The Future of Food documentary and the Monsanto Corporation are easily seen), Michael is sent in to try and clean up the debacle. But big business, along with Arthur and Michael's firm, are concerned and have clean-up ideas of their own. Hit men, the burning of document warehouses, and even exploding cars are not beyond the realm of dangers facing Mr. Clayton.
Definitely in the vein of Erin Brockovich, but this film's focus is not on the ones represented by the attorney's firm and, instead, on the attorneys themselves. Morality and money are the two at-odds items, which is also nothing new to film. But what holds Michael Clayton together is the powerful performances by Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia), and, of course, Mr. Clooney. Wilkinson's disastrous decent into seeming madness holds a kernel of sympathy and understanding for the viewer. His life, decade upon decade, has been devoted to making and saving money for his firm, but at what moral cost? Coming to the end of his career, the weight of his decisions are heavy upon him and we can feel his dire wish to find a smidgin of good in his final days ("I am Shiva, the god of death.")
Tilda Swinton plays Karen Crowder, the firm's new lead attorney for the case abandoned by Arthur (Wilkinson). Her need to win the case overpowers commonsense and even legalities and, in the end, gets the better of her.
And then there's Michael Clayton (Clooney) who sees much of himself in Arthur, wondering if this is what awaits him at the end of his career. But there's also Michael's personal life that infringes upon the entire story loop. His son Henry (Austin Williams, The Good Shepherd) wants desperately to connect with his father but both have trouble finding common ground; Michael because of his forced amount of time on the job, and Henry because of a fantasy life (see role playing game) that he wants to include his father in. Michael's old gambling habit has also reemerged causing him many a financial woe and forcing another morality play that bites him in the bum when asking for an advance from his boss.
The downsides to the film are that it's pretty standard Hollywood fodder as far as movies go, and the ending was a bit too tidy and convenient. I never understood how Michael knew where to find Karen Crowder and when she'd be having a meeting with "the big client".
Even so, this is a good character story with enough good dialogue and great acting to keep most watchers entertained. And if you're a Clooney fan, you can drool a bit more.
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