Other than Ocean’s Thirteen, George Clooney movies as of late have not been your typical fare. Good Night, and Good Luck. was his directorial follow-up to Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and it sparked the beginning of a “new” Clooney, a Clooney that seemed to have a message for the world and he was going to tell it through film. Along with his producer buddy Steven Soderbergh at Section Eight they also brought us Syriana and The Good German. These latest three films were quite melancholy and somewhat subversive in nature. While Syriana is still a favorite of mine it is nice to see Clooney bringing a little excitement back to the screen as he teams with Bourne series writer Tony Gilroy in his directorial debut.
Michael Clayton features Clooney as the title character, something of a “fixer” at the prestigious New York law firm Kenner, Bach & Ledeen. In the middle of a high profile class action lawsuit involving agrochemical company U/North the firm faces an issue that needs fixing and it needs fixing yesterday. Top lawyer Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) has just been caught on tape stripping naked and confessing his love for one of the plaintiffs bringing charges against the company he has been hired to defend. The move puts Clayton into action and also in the line of fire as he gets closer to the truth.
Michael Clayton is hardly a suspenseful thriller, but it is a film that will keep your attention the whole way through as not a single scene is unnecessary. Gilroy has always written fantastic scripts including The Devil’s Advocate and all three Bourne films, it was only right he take the reins on a project of his own rather than have all the glory shine elsewhere.
Instead of courtroom trickery and jury rigging, Michael Clayton is something of a psychological and procedural thriller hybrid. The anecdote that “actions speak louder than words” is put to the test several times throughout this film and hits a high note come the final moments. If you have seen the trailer you have already heard Clooney deliver the line, “I’m not the guy that you kill, I’m the guy that you buy. Are you so blind that you don’t even see what I am?” Well just wait until you see it delivered in contex; it is jarring.
Clooney gives another fantastic performance as a man that is at his wits end. He’s lost his wife, has a gambling problem, is a failed businessman and is all but interested in continuing to play out his current role as a behind-the-scenes puppet master. He is joined by a stellar cast including Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and the oddly engaging Sydney Pollack (I just love this guy on screen for some reason).
The slow and methodical storytelling may turn a few moviegoers off, but sticking this one out for the duration pays off well. You would be hard pressed to find a procedural thriller this good in the past ten years. Luckily for Clooney this one still carries a message dealing with morals, ethics and the overall power placed in the hands of American corporations. On top of that, it is a damn good film to boot.
