Michael Clayton (10/10)
posted in Movie Reviews |
A fantastic character thriller filled with excellent performances and a great script.
Writing: This is one of those marvelous morality tales where pretty much everyone exists at one level of gray or another. When described as a miracle worker, the character of Michael Clayton quickly shuns the accolade and instead describes himself as a janitor. And in most ways, he’s not just being modest. While he may be very good at his job, it really does come down to being little more than that in the grand scheme of things. Nobody thinks of him unless they need him, and after the fact they’d probably rather forget about anything having to do with him. As such, he’s a very ambiguous character, eeking his way through his meandering life, unsure of almost everything. And as much as he may seem to have his act together, he’s hanging on by little more than all those he helps. If they only knew. The journey of the character(s) is fascinating.
Production: Favoring the simple over the flashy (which is in character with the story), the production exists in the world of high stakes class action lawsuits and Fortune 500 power grabbers, but doesn’t stoop to glorifying their world or making it overly flashy. It’s a dog-eat-dog atmosphere, and the crew brings it to life with a great combination of cinematography, set design, location scouting and comfortable editing.
Cast: Here is another strong suit of the film. Clooney is 100% on the money with his performance. It’s tweaked to perfection, nailing all the details with subtlety. He portrays all the frustration of being a fish trapped in a current without overplaying any kind of anxiety or melodrama. It wouldn’t surprise me if Clooney manages to get himself a nomination for the role, and I’d be happy to see it happen. Tilda Swinton is intriguing as the up-and-coming corporate spin-controller, who’s in over her head and compounds her problems with one worse choice on top of each bad choice, slowly losing control. Sydney Pollack is an obvious casting move as the semi-soulless boss, and is also the correct choice. Then there’s Tom Wilkinson who is always able to walk that fine line of slick power and unglued mania, and does so with ease in this film. Another acting bonus is Merritt Wever in a supporting role. She was great as PA Suzanne in Studio 60, and pulls off the character of naive intelligence very well.
Music: James Newton Howard downplays the score but makes it work very well. He avoids anything particularly flashy or even thematic and goes more for atmosphere, texture and ambiance. Not a score to rave about, but definitely a solid, deserving effort.
