And it's just a really good movie.
Clayton is a "fixer" in a law firm, a lawyer who fixes problems of important clients by whatever semi-legal means necessary. The wear and tear of fixing other people's problems for 15 years is finally catching up to him. He's feeling trapped, lost, and helpless. What was once an intriguing role as "fixer" he now dubs as a "janitor." He no longer really practices law and he's overcome a gambling addiction only to lose all of his money in a restaurant venture he undertook with his sporadic and previously drug-addicted brother. And the money he used to help get the restaurant off the ground was from dubious sources who are now itching for payment.All of this pressure has built up within him, trapped in a world where neither his professional nor personal life offers any release.
And it's at this precarious moment that he gets his next assignment... to coddle a lead litigator (Tom Wilkinson) who's apparently flipped his lid. This litigator's apparent mental meltdown has put into serious jeopardy a decade long and massive lawsuit protecting a chemical company from paying people to which they may have caused cancer.
Throw in there an ambitious new attorney (Tilda Swinton) hired by the chemical company that will do anything to protect them and things get dicey in a hurry.How can Clayton, who's barely holding his own life together, bring a brilliant, but unstable litigator under control before the law firm's greatest client, the chemical company, walks away in embarrassment?
That struggle and that pressure are evident on Clooney's face throughout the film. You never know if the very next second on the screen will result in Clayton finally being pushed over the edge. It's a great performance.
The film is directed by Tony Gilroy, who earned his chance behind the camera by penning such hits as the Bourne trilogy, and manages his directing effort with great ease. In his hands, Michael Clayton is successful as a legal movie, a thriller, a drama and a suspense film.The film is not earth shattering or trend setting, it is simply a really good old-fashioned movie telling an intriguing story with a career best performance by Clooney.
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2 comments:
I had the pleasure of watching that movie on the a tiny airplane seat screen on the way back from Barcelona which didn't seem to do it justice. Loved that movie - it is excellent and I thought the ending was fantastic. Details of events seemed to sink in after I had watched it and thought about it.
Yeah, it does stay with you a while, which is a sign of a good film.
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