Wilsford's Review
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Notable Characters: George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Tom Wilkinson – Arthur Edens
Tilda Swinton – Karen Crowder
Plot (contains spoilers): Michael Clayton, a “janitor” of a world class law firm, is called in to clean up a situation with one of the firm’s clients. Upon leaving, he stops off to have a moment in nature when his car explodes. Rewind to four days earlier, Arthur Edens, the senior litigating partner for a multibillion dollar case, goes nuts and strips down to his socks in a hearing. Clayton is called in to clean up the mess. When he meets Edens he realizes that he has stopped taking his medication and blames the outburst on that. However, Edens denies this is the case and claims to have had an enlightening experience to which he realized that he has been the bad guy. The company that the firm has been representing named “U-North”, they make agricultural products, has a class action lawsuit against them for knowingly selling a product that is dangerous and has resulted in deaths. Upon further investigation, Edens who is supposed to representing U-North has actually been building a case against them and made a booklet detailing their neglect. This puts the firm in a bad spot. Currently they have racked up millions of dollars in legal fees for U-North, now they have a lawyer building a case against them which means that U-North could lose the case and sue for legal malpractice which would result in everyone losing their jobs. Clayton is given the job of cleaning it all up. While this is going on, U-North has decided to clean up the situation their own way, killing Edens and everyone who has seen the booklet, including Clayton. Thinking the lawsuit is done and Clayton is dead as a result of the car bomb from the beginning, Karen Crowder convinces the board of U-North to settle and when leaving the meeting, she has the unfortunate pleasure of seeing a non-dead Michael Clayton, who then gets her to confess and brings the mess to a justified conclusion.
Reasons why I didn’t like it:
· If you couldn’t tell from the plot synopsis, it was confusing. For the first 30 minutes, I had no idea what was going on. Some people might enjoy that in a movie, but I don’t think being lost is a fun experience.
· Some elements of the story were worthless. There was a storyline in the movie about Clayton opening a bar, the bar busting, and his brother deserting him to foot the bill. This story line took about 20 minutes of screen time and had virtually no impact on the overall story.
· The ending is probably one of the dumbest endings I have ever watched. *Spoiler Alert* In the end, Michael Clayton confronts Crowder and explains that he knows what happens and tells her that he is going to tell everyone the truth unless she pays him off. When she agrees he pulls out a tape recorder, the police come in, and the nice music plays. The problem with the ending is, SHE DIDN’T CONFESS ANYTHING! I could be wrong, but it is not a crime to pay someone who is blackmailing you. Yes it makes you look guilty but I would think a good response would be “We were paying to save our reputation not to withhold information.” It could be that he already released the booklet but that wasn’t addressed. I shouldn’t have to reason a good ending myself. *End Spoiler Alert*
Reason why I liked it:
· George Clooney was pretty good. I am not a huge fan of his but his performance was not that bad.
· Until the end, and minus a few things mentioned above, it wasn’t a bad mystery. Once I realized what was going on, the story was intriguing and it was difficult to predict what was going to happen next.
Final Notes: This movie is entertaining but the ending really ruined it for me. I think that it was a result of poor writing, they really could have made it better and I don’t think it would have taken much more work. If you like mysteries, you probably will like it, but if you hate confusion, pointless story threads, and poorly written endings, then you will want to pass.
Young's Review
With the exception of his three turns as Daniel Ocean, George Clooney has stayed out of the limelight in his recent films. He has produced (Rumor Has It), written and directed (Good Night And Good Luck) more often than being the leading man. With the release of 'Michael Clayton', Clooney reminds everyone that he is still capable of carrying a movie in front of the camera too.
Clooney plays the title character, a lawyer at a large criminal defense firm. Clayton's job is to clean up messes outside the courtroom instead of working cases inside them (he describes his role as being 'the janitor'). The problem Clayton is sent to solve here involves his mentor, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), who stripped down to his socks in a taped deposition. Clayton finds out that Edens is about to expose U-North, a top client of his firm, for producing a deadly weed killer.
This film is a first-rate legal thriller and gets a resounding 'thumbs up'. Screenwriter Tony Gilroy, who co-wrote the screenplays to all three 'Bourne' movies, makes his directorial debut and doesn't disappoint. Clooney's performance was impressive in that it intertwined subtlety and intensity. Wilkinson (The Exorcism Of Emily Rose) was dynamite, as always. Sydney Pollack, better known as the director of such films as 'The Firm' and 'The Interpreter', and Tilda Swinton (The Beach) both gave memorable performances in supporting roles.
The movie begins near the story's conclusion before flashing back four days earlier. This conceit, while a bit confusing, served the story. There is a jumbled story line involving Clayton's brother and his debt problems. This part is hard to follow and is unnecessary to the main story. Also, the ending may leave some viewers, like James, a bit frustrated (although I enjoyed it). Despite these things, 'Michael Clayton' is a fine film worthy of much praise.
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