Michael Clayton

Cold, distant, and unforgiving. Tony Gilroy is a very wise man who has managed to make his name a trademark, under which he is going to distribute goods of the best quality. You’ll be so chilled by Tom Wilkinson's opening monologue alone that you won't melt until the closing credits. This high-level legal game with lives on the line knocks you out with its formal austerity, which gives ample room for narrative peripeteia and theatrics in which the venerable academy has once again crowned the wrong person. Tilda Swinton spends the few minutes she gets looking like an uptight spinster, and immediately the golden statuettes come tumbling down. But otherwise, apart from the hasty introduction, I have no major complaints. 4 ½ (with the promise of a reunion coming soon). (2008-03-29)

A very intelligent and quite cold film that sticks so strongly to genre conventions to the point of being a problem, because a little more excitement wouldn't hurt. Despite Gilroy's attempt to ride the wave of reality, there are a few missteps, like for example, the dream “horse/bomb” scene – that could hardly happen in real life. But this is still a solid legal thriller, thanks to its visually simple and austere execution, with plenty of brilliant dialogues and experienced actors who play strong and captivating businessmen to perfection. Clooney in his mentally toughest role yet, he has forsaken his charming façade, and as a tough negotiator, you believe in him down to the last detail. A high-quality genre film that may not entertain everyone, but is capable of smartly appealing to the audience. (2008-08-02)

A corporate apocalypse with a terrific script, direction, music, and performances. Characters abound and it's not hard to get tangled up in the convoluted story at times. But it's all the more satisfying when you get it back and everything starts to fall into place in you. Add to that the perfect scenes, led by the murder of Arthur Edensen, and the lack of audience pandering, and the rating is clear. And the ending... Anyone who doesn't like this, hop on back to Seagal ;) (2010-09-13)

Clayton is like a snowball slowly collecting more and more snow as it rolls on. The beginning is rather boring (despite being polished and realistic), but with added color from the precise background music by James Newton Howard. Clooney is great as usual and Gilroy is too good to let you switch off, and that’s good... at the end all the loose ends tie up nicely. I'm not the guy you kill, I'm the guy you buy! Are you so fucking blind that you don't even see what I am? I'm your easiest problem and you're gonna kill me? (2011-05-22)

Michael Clayton is another film that seems to come to us through time from a bygone era. I can imagine it being made by Sidney Pollack (great idea to cast him here, by the way) or his namesake Lumet sometime during the seventies, preferably with Robert Redford or Gene Hackman in the lead. But back to the present. What we have here is a simple story that has been seen, read and heard several times, but it is well written, has excellent dialogue and such unique characters that it is a joy to watch. Tony Gilroy's direction is fairly slow (Michael Clayton is thankfully not an action movie), but he comes up with a lot of ideas and many of the scenes (the horses, Arthur's apartment, the cab ride) are memorable. There's also a subtle but atmospheric performance by James Newton Howard... Four and a half. (2011-12-10)