Michael Clayton (2007)

Director:

Tony Gilroy

Writer (WGA):

Tony Gilroy (written by)

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Truth Can Be Adjusted

Plot:

A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.

Plot Keywords:

Law Firm | Attorney | Fixer | Debt | Lawsuit

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 51 nominations

Cast

Tom Wilkinson	...	Arthur Edens
Michael O'Keefe	...	Barry Grissom
Sydney Pollack	...	Marty Bach
Danielle Skraastad	...	Bridget Klein (voice)
Tilda Swinton	...	Karen Crowder
George Clooney	...	Michael Clayton
Wai Chan	...	Chinese Dealer
Alberto Vazquez	...	Player #1
Brian Koppelman	...	Player #2
Thomas McCarthy	...	Walter (voice) (as Tom McCarthy)
Denis O'Hare	...	Mr. Greer
Julie White	...	Mrs. Greer
Austin Williams	...	Henry Clayton
Jennifer Van Dyck	...	Ivy
Frank Wood	...	Gerald

MPAA:

Rated R for language including some sexual dialogue.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Norway:11 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Germany:12 | Denmark:11 | Netherlands:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R (certificate #43163) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | France:U | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:12 | South Africa:13L | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:M | Norway:10 (TV rating) | India:A

Filming Locations:

1345 Ave of the Americas, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Samuels Media

Trivia:

Three previous Best Director Academy Award winners served as producers and/or executive producers to this film: Sydney Pollack (Producer), Anthony Minghella (Exec. Producer) and Steven Soderbergh (Exec. Producer).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Michael and Marty are having the conversation in Marty's home, the glass doors on the bookcase behind Marty change positions numerous times during the scene; probably to avoid reflecting the camera and crew in the glass with each new camera position.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Arthur Edens: Michael. Dear Michael. Of course it's you, who else could they send, who else could be trusted? I... I know it's a long way and you're ready to go to work... all I'm saying is wait, just wait, just-just-just... please hear me out because this is not an episode, relapse, fuck-up, it's... I'm begging you Michael. I'm begging you. Try and make believe this is not just madness because this is not just madness. Two weeks ago I came out of the building, okay, I'm running across Sixth Avenue, there's a car waiting, I got exactly 38 minutes to get to the airport and I'm dictating. There's this, this panicked associate sprinting along beside me, scribbling in a notepad, and suddenly she starts screaming, and I realize we're standing in the middle of the street, the light's changed, there's this wall of traffic, serious traffic speeding towards us, and I... I-I freeze, I can't move, and I'm suddenly consumed with the overwhelming sensation that I'm covered with some sort of film. It's in my hair, my face... it's like a glaze... like a... a coating, and... at first I thought, oh my god, I know what this is, this is some sort of amniotic - embryonic - fluid. I'm drenched in afterbirth, I've-I've breached the chrysalis, I've been reborn. But then the traffic, the stampede, the cars, the trucks, the horns, the screaming and I'm thinking no-no-no-no, reset, this is not rebirth, this is some kind of giddy illusion of renewal that happens in the final moment before death. And then I realize no-no-no, this is completely wrong because I look back at the building and I had the most stunning moment of clarity. I... I... I... I realized Michael, that I had emerged not from the doors of Kenner, Bach, and Ledeen, not through the portals of our vast and powerful law firm, but from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the... the-the-the poison, the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other, larger, more powerful organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity. And that I had been coated in this patina of shit for the best part of my life. The stench of it and the stain of it would in all likelihood take the rest of my life to undo. And you know what I did? I took a deep cleansing breath and I set that notion aside. I tabled it. I said to myself as clear as this may be, as potent a feeling as this is, as true a thing as I believe that I have witnessed today, it must wait. It must stand the test of time. And Michael, the time is now.

Movie Connections:

References Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Soundtrack:

Midnight Cocktail

Michael Clayton is all about the people

In a world over-run by corporations and lawyers, the little man rarely wins. It takes a big man to keep that world in order. But sometimes another big man comes along to show who really is the big man. Or is it a woman? That said, no big man would exist without the little man - the outsider.

While you can watch this movie and see a good story develop, the story makes an interesting shift. The people become the story once the initial story has laid to bare the reason for the peoples' existence.

I enjoyed it for that very reason. The characters were all extremely interesting thanks to great performances by everyone. Clooney, Wilkinson, Pollack and especially Tilda Swinton(White Witch from Narnia) - I am in love with her acting ability. I will be doing some back-tracking to catch up on what I have missed from her. In Narnia, she was deliciously evil and in Clayton, she couldn't be any worse at being evil, but that was her character. It was fun to watch how she made weakness such a strength.

Wilkinson is such an all around great actor and makes his character seem lovable although pitiful and downright nasty for reasons I won't bring up here. Wilkinson definitely delivers.

Clooney provided the best performance in a long time. I think Clooney has long been an interesting performer but this role is just one of his best - dedicated, sometimes mysterious, loving and charming; even funny and sad.

You may look for more in the story line but you may miss the best part if you don't accept that the people are the story once the movie gets rolling.

8 of 10