I went into “Michael Clayton” with high expectations: I expected suspense. I expected thrills. Unfortunately, one explosion and a false-start complete with a “Four Days Earlier” flashback does not a suspense thriller make. And since we have George Clooney as the title character, I was also hoping for an interesting character study. Ah, success at last…well, almost.
Tom Wilksinon is always great to watch, and he uses everything he has as corporate lawyer Arthur Edens. He goes from seemingly mad to razor sharp, and shows us everything in between. Wilkinson is as good with the small details as he is with the big scene-chewing speeches (think “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” and you’ve got the gist of it), and it’s a hell of a performance.
The same can be said for Tilda Swinton’s Karen Crowder. My first impression was that Jodie Foster should have played this part, but the more I’ve thought about it since then, the more I realize how right Swinton is for the role. She looks the part, and brings a certain coldness to the character that suits her perfectly. Now this is a true character study: we watch her rehearse every word and nuance of a speech; we see the obsessive way she lays out her clothes. We understand what drives her ambitions, and we see that she has nowhere to go but down. This woman literally falls apart before our eyes, and her final scene is (in my opinion) the best written and well-delivered of the film.
Which leaves us one character short, and that’s a major problem when it’s the title character.
Some films benefit by relating events out of sequence; this one does not. For my money, the film should have forgone the lame “ending at the beginning” structure and started with George Clooney’s “janitor” sweeping in and saving the day, showing us why he has the respect (and fear) of everyone around him. It would have continued by giving us more of Michael’s relationship with Arthur, and the effect it has on him as the events of the story unfold. And what an opportunity missed by not letting two intelligent, charismatic actors like Clooney and Swinton clash in a game of cat-and-mouse, leading up to that brilliant finale.
All that being said, this movie looks great, and thanks to a tight script it moves along at a nice pace. It’s a solid effort with hints of greatness scattered throughout, and it’s a (mostly) enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. Case closed.
Tom Wilksinon is always great to watch, and he uses everything he has as corporate lawyer Arthur Edens. He goes from seemingly mad to razor sharp, and shows us everything in between. Wilkinson is as good with the small details as he is with the big scene-chewing speeches (think “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” and you’ve got the gist of it), and it’s a hell of a performance.
The same can be said for Tilda Swinton’s Karen Crowder. My first impression was that Jodie Foster should have played this part, but the more I’ve thought about it since then, the more I realize how right Swinton is for the role. She looks the part, and brings a certain coldness to the character that suits her perfectly. Now this is a true character study: we watch her rehearse every word and nuance of a speech; we see the obsessive way she lays out her clothes. We understand what drives her ambitions, and we see that she has nowhere to go but down. This woman literally falls apart before our eyes, and her final scene is (in my opinion) the best written and well-delivered of the film.
Which leaves us one character short, and that’s a major problem when it’s the title character.
Some films benefit by relating events out of sequence; this one does not. For my money, the film should have forgone the lame “ending at the beginning” structure and started with George Clooney’s “janitor” sweeping in and saving the day, showing us why he has the respect (and fear) of everyone around him. It would have continued by giving us more of Michael’s relationship with Arthur, and the effect it has on him as the events of the story unfold. And what an opportunity missed by not letting two intelligent, charismatic actors like Clooney and Swinton clash in a game of cat-and-mouse, leading up to that brilliant finale.
All that being said, this movie looks great, and thanks to a tight script it moves along at a nice pace. It’s a solid effort with hints of greatness scattered throughout, and it’s a (mostly) enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. Case closed.
3 comments:
Sounds like you're recommending this film. If that flashback intro was removed, I could give the film praise. With it, the movie is flawed, leaving only great parts instead of a great sum.
Michael Clayton (George Clooney, ye are sure pretty to look at) you almost lost me when you went up the hill to whisper to the horses, I realize that was way to get you out to the car when it exploded. But…
Mike, I agree the Michael Clayton “the janitor” never really showed us why he was so good at what he does, he was called in to fix a situation and stood in the kitchen with these people, he made one phone call and SHAZAM apparently he fixed it. You never heard of it again. That whole scene could have been cut and you wouldn’t know any less than what you know anyway. Useless.
Arthur on the other hand was a great character, every time he was on the screen, I looked forward to what he was going to say or do next.
Mike I also agree Twila Swinton, was a perfect in the part of Ms Crowder, she was fascinating to watch., I knew she was up to something when she was sweating like a pig in the loo. (she is from the UK) Sydney Pollack and as Marty Bach was very good, I wish he had more screen time.
Michael Clayton , Drama, yes. Thriller, no. All and all a good, but not great movie. JS
two Questions:
If your going to try and kill somebody and make it look like an accident, is a car bomb a wise choice?
And why was't this movie called Jerry Maguire because he almost had as many scenes as the man who was supposed to be the star of the story.
Keep it on Michael Clayton, youd have a classic on your hands. Too much other junk cluttering up the screen
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