Michael Clayton
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008
(2 votes, average: 7.5 out of 10)
click on the stars to submit your rating
Loading …
Don’t believe the truth!
The Lowdown: Michael Clayton is an in-house ‘fixer’ for one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. Despite being jaded by his shady work, Clayton is faced with his toughest case yet – his company’s top litigator has suffered a psychological meltdown and risks sabotaging a key agrichemical settlement case.
Review: Even the most casual film fans out there will be able to recognise the split personality nature of George Clooney’s career. Clooney himself makes no bones about his willingness to divide his time between money-spinning crowd-pleasers like Ocean’s 11/12/13 and mature, intelligent critic-pleasers like Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) and Syriana (2005). Tony Gilroy’s directorial debut falls firmly into the latter category. Fans who recognise Gilroy’s name from being the screenwriter on The Bourne Trilogy may be disappointed by the lack of high-octane action in Michael Clayton, but Gilroy’s flair for intrigue has clearly made it across intact.
Clooney is typically impressive in his role as shady fixer Clayton and he turns a potentially sly rogue into an assured yet edgy man whose life is in turmoil despite indications to the contrary. His believability and all too human flaws (gambling problem, ailing business, troubled son) ensure that you side with him despite the disingenuous nature of his work. Underneath that suave demeanour lies a tormented soul. As Clayton’s would-be nemesis, agrichemical in-house counsel chief Karen Crowder, Tilda Swinton adds another string to her already impressive bow with a similarly wracked performance. The rather measly selection of extras consists of a considered audio commentary courtesy of Gilroy and his editor (and younger brother) John Gilroy, and a brisk batch of deleted scenes accompanied by optional commentary from the duo. It may be too subtle for the popcorn crowd, but brutal indictments of corporate society don’t come much more self-assured than this.
FILM: 7 EXTRAS: 4
DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Tom Wilkinson
Directed By: Tony Gilroy
Distributor: Pathe Distribution
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 119mins
Price: £19.99
Film supplied by: Premier PR
Special Features:
Scene Selection
Audio Commentary With Director Tony Gilroy & Editor John Gilroy
Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary By Tony Gilroy & John Gilroy
