George Clooney begins to unravel the sordid details of a class-action lawsuit in the thriller MICHAEL CLAYTON. Clooney is Michael, a former attorney who is now a “fixer” for the law firm of Kenner, Bach and Ledeen. Michael’s value as a man who can fix problems and major obstacles for the firm is even greater than an attorney, according to the firm’s partner, Marty Bach, played by Sydney Pollack. Michael’s latest fix is Arthur Eden, one of the firm’s attorneys, who’s been getting to close to a plaintiff who’s seeking damages against U/North, the company Kenner, Bach and Ledeen are defending.
Despite the impressive, yet slowly developing screenplay from first-time director, but successful screenwriter Tony Gilroy, and with all due respect to his fine work here, MICHAEL CLAYTON is George Clooney’s movie. The film lives and breathes through the calculated, mannered, complicated and determined character that Clooney crafts. The screenplay allows Clooney to be seen in several different lights: as a manipulative attorney, a problem solver, a self-sacrificial brother, a flawed father and more than anything a deeply troubled individual. Although the film works as a somewhat conventional thriller, the depth and mystery which lurks beneath are a credit to Clooney’s portrayal. Each move Clayton makes is based on a number of variables from his standing with the firm, the debt that he owes, the relationships that he’s built and the ones which have fallen apart. As events unravel in MICHAEL CLAYTON it isn’t the plot’s outcome which peaks one’s interest, but rather the impact the outcome will have on one man’s decisions.
Grade: B
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