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Michael Clayton (2007)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Tony Gilroy (written by)
Release Date:
12 October 2007 (USA)
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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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 12 wins
&
51 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(254 articles)
trailer break: ‘Up in the Air’
(From FlickFilosopher. 24 November 2009, 7:59 AM, PST)
10 closest Oscar races in the past 20 years
(From Gold Derby. 23 November 2009, 1:12 PM, PST)
(From FlickFilosopher. 24 November 2009, 7:59 AM, PST)
10 closest Oscar races in the past 20 years
(From Gold Derby. 23 November 2009, 1:12 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Good film, but not for everyone
more (319 total)
US TV Schedule:
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | 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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language including some sexual dialogue.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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 Geneva) |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) |
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan that is blown up in this film was first used in filming of The Devil Wears Prada (2006). For the earlier film it was cut in two for use in process shots featuring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. It was then welded back together and repainted in order to be blown up in Michael Clayton (2007). The car's preparation was featured on "Shooting Cars" (2006).
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Clayton first gets the booklet from the print shop, it has a black plastic binding. Later it changes to a wire one.
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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.
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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.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Best of 2007" (2007)
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Soundtrack:
Midnight Cocktail
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FAQ
What crime did Karen implicate herself in?What's the point of the bar? What happened?
Is the plot of Michael Clayton based on any pre-existing publication such as book or other medium?
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more (319 total)
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This is a well-made suspense film. It builds slowly, it features the key characters in sometimes agonising close-up, it weaves an intricate plot (a bit too intricate, in hindsight -- I'm still not sure why some events were included), and George Clooney is masterful as the morally conflicted character who does his best to hold his collapsing life together, while slowly realising that his role in life is not quite what he thought it was in any case.
There are some things this film is not. It's not an action film ... if you expect that, it will seem very slow. It's not a warm and friendly film that leaves you feeling good about the world -- it was shot in winter, just to emphasise its coldness. It's not a comedy in any way, not even through being over-the-top. It's reality rather than escapism.
If you like suspense, unflinching realism, stories of moral conflict, criticisms of corporate America, or George Clooney -- or if you're just in the mood to see that kind of film -- you'll love it. If you're in the mood for a film to wash away the cares of the day (as I was), choose something else.