Michael Clayton DVD

I must admit that when watching Tony Gilroy's 2007 film Michael Clayton I begin to (somewhat) regret my frequent rants about the deleterious effects that modern Hollywood has had on the quality (and accessibility) of modern cinema. Gilroy's film is another example (albeit, increasingly rare?) of a film genre - the political/corporate corruption thriller - in which Hollywood has historically excelled, and follows in the wake of films such (Sydney Pollack's) Three Days Of The Condor, All The President's Men, Silkwood, Thank You For Not Smoking, Network, (Steven Soderburgh's) Erin Brockovich, etc. Indeed, it is also notable that Soderburgh (executive producer) and Pollack (producer and actor) both had a hand in Michael Clayton. Gilroy's film manages, at the same time, to be both subtle and fast moving, and, despite one or two plot stretches, is, for me, carried to five star quality by its superlative cast and brilliant final 10 minutes.In the film's title role, a fixer for a major league law firm, George Clooney has never been better, whilst the inestimable Tilda Swinton was, for me, fully deserving of her Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Karen Crowder, the steely, neurotic and corrupt legal counsel for U-North, the agricultural company against which Clooney finds himself battling, after his bipolar disorder-suffering colleague, Arthur Edens (an excellent Tom Wilkinson) threatens to expose the company's nefarious practices. Clooney's role is brilliantly portrayed as the estranged husband, absent father, and gambling addict with dysfunctional siblings, and who increasingly questions, and becomes disgusted with, the life and career he has been following. There are numerous excellent turns by supporting players, notable of which are that by (director/producer) Sydney Pollack as Clayton's boss, Marty Bach, Bill Raymond (the Greek of The Wire fame) as Gabe Zabel, the seedy lone shark to whom Clayton owes money, Denis O'Hare as Mr Greer, who tries to con Clayton in relation to an alleged road accident right at the start of the film (in a highlight scene) and Merritt Wever (of the TV series Nurse Jackie fame) as Anna, one of the claimants against U-North and Arthur's friend.Gilroy, together with cinematographer Robert Elswit (who also shot Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood and Magnolia), have peppered the film with some brilliantly shot dowdy interiors (such as that of Clayton's gambling den) and some atmospheric exteriors (for example, the setting of Clayton's pivotal car chase sequence). Composer James Newton Howard's music also provides an exquisitely poignant accompaniment, particularly at the more reflective onscreen moments.All-in-all an excellent film, which is capped by one of the most outstanding closing sequences (in my recent memory) as Clooney is driven away in a cab (reminiscent, in visual terms only, of the endings of Taxi Driver and The Long Good Friday), his face remaining studiedly neutral, until he eventually allows the traces of a smile to emerge.One of the DVD extras is a commentary by Gilroy and his editor, his brother John, during which they make clear the difficulties they had in securing backing for the film. As a directing debut, Tony Gilroy should be proud of this effort.

I saw this as a film not so much about the story but more about characters; George Clooney's in the main, obviously. The plot regarding the UNorth case is just a scene-setter and contrary to what some other reviewers have said I didn't find it unduly complicated or slow. Mr Clayton is a man who is apparently successful - defined by his corporate, private jet, world - but is hugely unfulfilled; Tom Wilkinson's character (Arthur Edens) similarly so. Each in their own way is miserable, we see much of Clayton's non-work life where even then he is required to be welded to his `phone, but not so much of Edens'. The apartment where Edens `lives' (when not at the office or on the road) is not exactly luxurious. So each of them `want out', Edens from his job and Clayton - it seems - from `everything'. Casting aside the mental health aspects, how many people, I wonder, would like to have rebelled against interminable meetings as did Edens, to go out in one grand futile gesture perhaps.The scene with Clayton and the three horses is exquisite, well acted and played with the correct level of pathos. Other early scenes build the characters on which the film depends and, yes, there are no car chases nor exploding helicopters so I can see why some of the other reviewers would find it boring.We see how Karen Crowder responds to pressure, so someone who again seems to live the corporate high life, in this case in charge of a large department and being a `key client', is reduced to being just a person on their own who makes interesting decisions from a strange set of values. Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack) begins the film as powerful and in complete command of his universe but we see by the end that corporate machinations within his firm render him to be just someone else having his strings pulled so he is not the master of his own destiny, albeit well remunerated.This is a film that you have to watch rather than allow to wash over you; it has a great central performance around which all of the other characters revolve.

This is Tony Gilroy's first film as a director; Gilroy is better known as the writer of the screenplays to the Bourne series.This is a cold and restrained thriller, an excellent and yet unusual take on the genre because the crucial moment that ratchets up the tension does not occur until the second half. In the meantime we see Clooney in action as a fixer (aka `janitor') for a top New York legal firm.`Sight & Sound' magazine in a generally positive review thought the story `overplotted'. But to me, the film is very cleverly constructed, the viewer wondering what's going on until it all slowly comes together, each piece of the jigsaw nicely sliding into place with perfection. To that extent it's a film worth watching more than once.Of the top stars, Clooney and Pollack make their roles look supremely effortless, whilst Swinton is convincing as the career woman compelled to make uncomfortable choices. I'm a big fan of Tom Wilkinson, but here - despite doing a brilliant job - his American accent remains unconvincing.In his director's commentary, Tony Gilroy explains how he constructed the film around a specific framing style with lots of negative space, thus concentrating the eye into the corner of the screen where the action - or inaction - is taking place. Clooney's face is often hidden in the dark shadows. Colours are also subdued: Gilroy refers to "cool colours", producing "a movie that's beautiful but not pretty."There are also three deleted scenes lasting six minutes in total.

A convoluted thriller which evaentually all makes sense. George C is outstanding. I think this is his best film.