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June 3, 2008
Michael Clayton (2007)
Should I see it?
Yes.


Short Review: Its a rare Hollywood movie - one that doesn't assume its audience is a bunch of mouth-breathing morons.



Screenwriter Tony Gilroy's (The Devil's Advocate, The Bourne Ultimatum) directorial debut is a very strong, dramatic work. The film is driven not by his directing skills, which are actually very well honed, but by his masterful script. The writing for this film is a rare treat. The characters could have come across somewhat stock, but Gilroy reveals enough about them to give them a breath of life. It is uncommon to see this level of care put into even supporting characters who would have normally have not been given much development at all.

The story surrounds Michael Clayton (George Clooney), a fixer for a powerful law firm. If something is hitting the fan, its his job to wipe things up and make them better. After years of struggle and success, he begins to discover what many already know, power, money and success will not give a life meaning. As a symbol of this, Clayton's personal life is literally bankrupt. He's alone, divorced and thanks to his gambling, in debt to the mob for $75,000. Despite his talents, good looks and sharp suits, he is still a lonely loser. Clayton's job intrudes into this quiet personal meltdown. One of Clayton's friends and his law firm's most brilliant lawyers Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkerson) has gone off his meds and had a breakdown (involving his stripping naked at a deposition). Arthur is guilt-ridden by protecting a corporation that has been selling toxic pesticides on the open market to Midwest farmers. The cost in human life has corroded Edens' soul and he finally decides to make a break from his law firm and bring the corporation down. Clayton is brought in to talk the frantic Edens out of his stupor and get him to rejoin the team and play ball. Lurking around this is Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) who, on the corporation's behalf, tries to fix the problem herself through the works of some thugs. Crowder is a nervous corporate climber, desperate to get noticed and join the higher ranks of society.

There is plenty of great scenes and brilliant acting to make this one of the better films of last year. The production received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her mousy role. The praise is well-deserved. This layered, and masterfully presented film is what Hollywood should be doing. The movie, with an even hand explores life and gives a truthful resolution in a satisfying fashion.

Tom Wilkerson (The Full Monty) is the real star of the film, in my estimation. His performance as the manic/depressive Edens is striking. He commands the movie and delivers one of the more compelling performances in recent memory. If it hadn't been for Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Daniel Plainview in There Will be Blood, which is one of the best performances in film history, Wilkerson's Edens would have been the best performance by an actor last year. He absolutely nails the role. Opposite him, Clooney, well, he's just George Clooney. His shallow pool of tricks is exposed next to Wilkerson, Swinton and Sydney Pollack, who plays Clooney's boss, the head of the firm Marty Bach. Clooney never rises above being himself. He's just Miles from Intolerable Cruelty in a different suit, a depressed version of Danny Ocean from Ocean's 11. He's simply Clooney with better lines. This is a case of the actor not being big enough for his role. Clooney's deficiencies don't destroy the film luckily, he is passable. He looks angry when he should be angry, he looks troubled when he should be troubled. He does enough to get the point across. But again, placed against Swinton and Wilkerson, it is plain to see the difference between actors and a movie star.

This is a film worth your effort and I highly suggest seeing it. It is a thoughtful and carefully constructed production that gives its audience credit for having brains. This is a rarity to say the least.


Cautions: There is harsh language and some mild (by today's standards) violence, but other than that the movie is respectfully done. There are no gratuitous uses of sex and violence.

***Spoiler Warning - I may ruin aspects of the film from this point forward***

Worldview: The main point of the film is the emptiness of life and how to find meaning. As I mentioned in the main review, Michael Clayton is a hollow man. He seems to have everything but his private life is a disaster. He is realistic enough to see that his work is meaningless. He constantly refers to himself as a janitor. He cleans up other people's messes - he just gets paid a lot of money to do it. He creates nothing, he contributes nothing, he simply lives off the misfortune of others and protects the wicked.

His cohort Arthur Edens (Eden - that's intentional) should be the happiest man in the world. He's a genius at his chosen field, has risen into a position of prominence and has respect the world over. He is living the modern day version of masculine paradise - again, his name. But Eden has fallen, its not as it seems. He's been made crazy by the evil he's had to deal with to get to his powerful position. Throughout the film he and Clayton butt heads and Edens continuously condemns Clayton and tries to get him off the path that led him into destruction. Eden's calls himself "Shiva, the god of death". He is death because he is sin. At the end of his life he sees his foul ways and realizes he is not redeemed. For all of his work, he has built nothing at all.

Clayton, who's name either intentionally or unintentionally can be culled from Job 4:19-21

"How much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! 20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever. 21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?"

He is the modern man looking to define himself through personal gratification. He wants riches and power and mistakes our current standards as being the path to enlightenment.
Gilroy's wonderful script contains a great number of little gems. The way he turns a phrase, his use of dialog and his character work all play in tandem. His plot moves effortlessly and shuttles this main point along calmly. In the end, Clayton finds some redemption by ensnaring Crowder and company and bringing them to justice (presumptively). The film is without a theological center however. The themes all line up and the resolution provides a morale but it is all done exterior to real enlightenment. Clayton reacts, not to the deaths of the victims of the poisonous chemicals, nor does he react tot he death of Edens (I told you I was going to ruin the movie), he only jumps to attention when he survives his own murder. His act is not sacrificial, it holds no higher purpose. It is done to protect himself. He admits as much at the end by explaining that he's the "guy you pay off". He resigns himself to his loathsome nature and doesn't pull away from it completely. In this sense, Clayton remains the same man but one who managed to do the right thing at least once.


Related Reviews:
George Clooney movies
O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
Syriana (2005)


Other Critic's Reviews:
The Southern Conservative
Clever Donkey

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