Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #427 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-02-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
George Clooney already has one acting Oscar to his name, and it’s unsurprising that immediately after the release of Michael Clayton, there were many arguing he was deserving of a second. For without a doubt, as impressive as the film is, it’s very much Clooney who powers this one forward.

Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, who previously adapted the Bourne movies for the big screen, Clooney takes the title role as a lawyer who goes in to do the jobs that, bluntly, nobody else wants to know about. And before long, Clooney discovers a cover-up that proves to be a mighty challenge to uncover, and one the inevitably conflicts him as a result.

Aided by a superb supporting cast that includes the likes of Sydney Pollack, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton at its best is a tense and effective thriller, written and directed steadfastly well by Gilroy. It’s not without a few problems, most notably a comparably weak conclusion and one or two underdeveloped characters. But it’s still a worthwhile film, and very much worth seeking out to simply enjoy a terrific performance from a Hollywood leading man who absolutely refuses to shy away from edgier roles. Long may he continue to do so. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is what is known in the legal world as a 'fixer', or in the character's own pejorative version, a 'janitor' who cleans up legal messes for VIPs and corporations on behalf of a prestigious New York City law firm. A former litigator, Clayton has found a niche that capitalises on his legal acumen and shrewd people skills, and yet, after 13 years on the job, finds himself increasingly disgusted with his clientele. The film covers four pivotal days of his life, in which a midlife crisis and a crisis of conscience neatly converge when he is called in to 'fix' a situation unfolding in one of his firm's hottest cases. Brilliant lawyer Arthur Edens (another powerhouse performance by Tom Wilkinson), representing a huge agro-chemical corporation being hit by a class action suit, has a bipolar breakdown, compounded by guilt over his defence of a company that is probably in the wrong, but is wealthy enough to buy its innocence either way. The company's CEO (Tilda Swinton) will stop at nothing to keep Edens from sinking the case. Clayton must decide how much of Edens's mad rebellion against the company is sheer mental illness, how much is true, and how much it will cost him to do the right thing.
Clooney delivers a rich performance as a hangdog and haunted man who wants to stay on the side of good, but is a little too skilled at moral margin-walking to make that an easy choice in every situation. Swinton glows as a woman who somehow won't let a tortured conscience prevent her from getting ahead. The final third of the film is as suspenseful as any courtroom drama, without ever resorting to legal-thriller cliches.

Customer Reviews

mildly thought provoking
It's hard to say whether George Clooney is making this sort of movie nowadays to cast himself against type or, given that he seems to be doing quite a few like this, that he is re-inventing himself away from the pretty boy nice guy image that has served him well so far.

Michael Clayton is a downbeat tale of corporate America and the dodgy wheelings and dealings that go on behind the scenes. The focus is on a troubleshooter (Uncle George) who works for a law firm retained by a very rich farming company that has been up to no good and subsequently stand to loose billions if found guilty. Their chief lawyer appears to have gone off his rocker though and so Michael Clayton is braught in to put it right.

In actual fact however, the lawyer in question has established that the farming company were indeed in the wrong but rather than do what every good American laywer does faced with this scenario (bury it), he feels bad about it and wants to make amends.

This film IS Goerge Clooney. Sure he's a little bit shabby and they've gone easy on the make up to tone down the trademark twinkle in his eye a little bit, but he's still good anyway. There's a little bit of insight into the shameful money grabbing of both big business and the American legal system where justice is a dirty word nowadays, but ultimately it is a good, light, very entertaining thriller that will satisfy both fans and non fans of Mr. Clooney alike.

Variation on an anti-capitalist Theme
There are so many films that capitalise on the whole anti-corporation theme in Hollywood - ironically a huge corporate entity in its own right. It's difficult therefore to make a neutral judgement on a film that highlights the corruption of a corporation, that highlights the lengths some corporations go to protect themselves. Unfortunately this film isn't quite sure how it wants to approach the issue. Somewhere in the film there's a line George Clooney utters at Tom Wilkinson, "you're making it too easy for them". In some ways this captures the central problem of the film. The Tom Wilkinson character, responsible for defending a large-scale corporation against a civil action suit, begins to crack up and - tragically makes it too easy to dismiss him and his feelings - both by the audience and the large corporation. If he had the intellectual fire Clooney repeatedly attributes to him then I would like to have seen that in action.

But we don't see it. Instead the film gets a bit convoluted - it brings in many other narrative threads which have no bearing on the main narrative and, I think, this ultimately dilutes the power of the story.

Having said that it is difficult to find much new ground in a well worn story. With Clooney resolving the film at the end in an upbeat way you do tend to feel we can all go back to our worlds and lives and not think about the issues in the film - Hollywood wants your money but not your thought. Clooney, who I have a lot of respect for, has made a better than average variation on the anti-capitalist theme.

Deliberately obscure?
I've noticed a trend recently of films that deliberately withhold information from the viewer so as to make the plot incredibly difficult to understand. This fools some into believing that the film is intelligent and well written. Personally I find such a device incredibly annoying. I don't want to have to spend two hours of my life wondering what the blue blazes is going on only to find at the end that the story is actually rather mundane and uninteresting. Sure I like films that have mystery and suspense but deliberately withholding information from the viewer just to try and confuse is bizarre. I didn't enjoy watching the film and at the end just felt cheated.

And the bit with the horses? Oh dear. We've lost him but let's push the button anyway. Very professional!