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| Michael Clayton | 
| Category: Movie
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  215 reviews
Sales Rank: 1520
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 120 minutes
ASIN: B0014B8KSI
Theatrical Release Date: October 12, 2007
Release Date: August 29, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 An Intelligent Thriller November 1, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Michael Clayton is the rare thing: an intelligent thriller. With the superb direction of Tony Gilroy (you'd never guess this is his debut as a director), a fantastic script (also by Gilroy) and extraordinary performances by Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and George Clooney (who's never been better), Michael Clayton is a must-see movie and a sure Oscar condender.
Just Say No to John Grisham October 29, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Finally, a legal thriller that doesn't include John Grisham's name in the credits! So, while it's story may not provide much along the lines of originality, I can certainly praise this film for making a number of brilliant stylistic choices. To begin, the script values wit and insight over the type of plot twists that tend to overcomplicate and ruin most thrillers -- the polished monologues that Clooney and Wilkinson deliver are worth the price of admission alone. Not to mention the fact that Clooney and Wilkinson are complete Oscar bait, particularly alongside Swinton and Pollack -- just a steller job of casting all around. Plus, you get to see everything through the lens of Robert Elswit -- what more could you want? Unfortunately, a story with more ambition and originality, but I'll chalk that up to my own greed. (8/10)
An Intense, Skillfully Written, Directed and Acted Thriller October 29, 2007
27 out of 30 found this review helpful
'The truth can be adjusted' is the official tag line for this brilliant film MICHAEL CLAYTON, a film that deserves and demands audience attention to appreciate all of the layers of complexities of thought and message while delivering a slick, brooding, polished piece of cinematic art. First time director is highly regarded writer Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Cutting Edge, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity, The Devil's Advocate, Proof of Life, Dolores Claiborne, etc) who understands the tension of suspense films and here adds to that entertainment element the key ingredients of social and philosophical statements. It is a film that works on many levels.
Michael Clayton (George Clooney, in one of his finest moments) is a lawyer with a major firm headed by tough yet compassionate CEO Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack, finally in top form as an actor), but Michael's position in the firm has been reduced to a 'fixer/janitor', a man who cleans up messes that are always part of legal cases. Michael is cool, brilliant, but is struggling with his own demons of gambling addiction, inherited debt from covering for his wasted alcoholic/druggie brother's failure as a restaurateur, and a divorced man trying to relate to his son. When a long term law suit against a major chemical corporation comes to a head, the chief lawyer for the case Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) falls victim to the pressure of the case, and while he holds the key to the truths involved, he disintegrates into a manic depressive state. The chemical company's lawyer Karen Crowder (a brilliant Tilda Swinton) struggles to please her Board of Directors in a plea bargain that is backed by all manner of lies and crimes. It is Michael Clayton that persists in 'fixing' and cleaning up the case, uncovering a massive tragedy the company has been shielding. To say more (and there is SO much more to tell!) would spoil the development of this nail-biting plot.
Every actor involved in this film is superb, thanks in large part to the sensitive direction of Tony Gilroy. Clooney proves he is one of our more well rounded actors on the screen today, Wilkinson continues to prove his mettle as a character actor par excellence, and Swinton is so fine in this tough role that she leaves the audience staggering. Watching MICHAEL CLAYTON restores faith in just how fine Hollywood movies can be. It is sure to be on the list in many categories come Awards time. Grady Harp, October 07
 entertaining within limits October 28, 2007
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
***1/2
If "Michael Clayton" didn't seem like quite so obvious a rehash of Sidney Lumet`s "The Verdict," I might be inclined to recommend it more highly. The basic premise of both films revolves around a dissolute legal type who achieves personal redemption when he lands on the "right" side of a class action lawsuit. Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the best thing to be said for the makers of "Michael Clayton" is that, if they had to find a movie to emulate, they at least chose one worth emulating.
Michael Clayton is no longer a practicing attorney himself but rather a "fixer" or "bagman" for a powerful legal firm, a man whose job it is to troubleshoot or run interference for any potential problems that might arise in one of its many cases. As with most such protagonists, Clayton spends so much time at his job that he doesn't have much of a personal life going for him: he's a divorced father with a serious gambling problem, a drug-addicted brother, and a failed business that has him in hock to the tune of $80,000. One of the firm's biggest clients is a chemical company whose powerful weed killing formula has allegedly resulted in serious medical conditions and even death for some of the farmers and their families who've come in contact with it. Clayton is called into action when the lead attorney for the defense suddenly goes berserk at a taped hearing, stripping off his clothes and launching into a Howard Beale-like rant for the other side. As he delves further into the case, Clayton undergoes a metamorphosis from cynical corporate water-carrier to enlightened populist do-gooder, finding personal redemption and fulfillment by helping the common man in his fight for justice.
"Michael Clayton" is, for the most part, a solid legal thriller, serious, intelligent and extremely well-served in the acting department. The "little man vs. vile corporation" theme has been pretty much played out by this time, but there are enough twists and turns in the plot and enough decent red herrings to keep us interested at least on a superficial level. The story goes through periods of murkiness when it isn't always clear what exactly is going on, but writer/director Tony Gilroy manages to straighten out most of the confusion in time for the finale. The moody score, bleak winter settings and dank cinematography all contribute to the chilly atmosphere that permeates the film.
In a role tailor-made for his acting style - stoic yet heartfelt, rugged yet vulnerable - George Clooney carries the weight of the film on his sturdy shoulders. The gifted Tilda Swinton doesn't fare quite so well with her character - a ruthless, emotionally unstable career woman with no personal life and no romantic prospects, a character, quite frankly, that feels just a trifle out-of-date in the year 2007. Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollack and Michael O'Keefe excel in minor roles.
"Michael Clayton" is a proficient, professional legal drama that never cuts as deeply or touches the heart as profoundly as one would like for it to do. Still, compared to most other cinematic offerings around at the moment, this is substantial, if not exactly sumptuous, movie going fare.
Great, but I doubt it's a realistic ending October 27, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'd longed to see this largely because I think Tom Wilkinson is one of the best. He didn't let me down.
As I've been criticized for it, I don't want to give away too much. Clooney plays Clayton, an attorney who serves as a "janitor" for a top-dollar NY law firm. The firm has a chemical company among its clients who has been under scrutiny after some of the company's clients died; did they do it?
Wilkinson--or Arthur--another of the firm's lawyers who's also, incidentally, manic depressive thinks so.
Hmmm. Back to not giving away too much...The film had me on the edge of my seat. I kept wondering what would happen next. The guys who were essentially hit men for the law firm had me going: I'd have loved to see them publicly executed. That's the degree the film evoked extreme emotions.
Clayton had his own weaknesses, especially gambling, while his brother was a recovering alcoholic. I mention that only because the characters were, alas, human. But important was that the focus of the film was NOT on the corporation the firm represented but on the firm itself. Sydney Pollack played I believe the senior partner in the firm. Clayton confronted him at one point and Pollack reminded him that somebody needs to "pay the rent" there! So, reality or truth notwithstanding, they'll represent who they need to.
An overzealous firm vice president became...overzealous and there were no holds barred. That's as much as I'll give away.
Another reviewer commented that there were a number of logical fallacies in the way the story was put together. While I don't necessarily disagree with that, I'll attribute it to "license of the medium." Indeed, the way the time sequence of the film was set up, that's one of the things that kept me on the edge of my seat!
My biggest objection is that I don't think a law firm like that would ultimately lose. They have "over 600" lawyers on their staff many of whom would be able to get them off the hook, perhaps passing the responsibility onto the corporation. I'm not defending the corporate lack of conscience by any stretch. But I just don't believe a big buck law firm would get caught.
There was a little of "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "The Razor's Edge" in it, in that at the end you're not sure what would happen to Clayton, except that he probably wouldn't be living as high as he was while an attorney in that firm. But the chance of catching a firm like that with its collective pants down I think is a fairy tale.
If that's cynical, so be it. But that's the only thing I had against the film.
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