BuzzFlash Reviews
Michael Clayton (DVD)
Starring George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS
But what makes it of special interest to BuzzFlash readers is that it explores the murky world in which corporate profits are more valuable than human life.
We don't want to overplay the symbolism of this film, about the power of corporations having overtaken our ethical standards of decency, but that's part of the appeal of this tense drama about power, personal integrity, justice, and intrigue.
You can watch the trailer here.
From FirstShowing.net:
Do you remember browsing over Entertainment Weekly's 40 Perfect Movie Endings back in early August? There were a lot of great films listed, with The Bourne Ultimatum sticking out as the big one from this year. However I've got a new one to add to that list: Michael Clayton. Holy shit, the ending in this movie is exhilarating. It's absolute perfection that I just can't get over. I've seen it twice now and each time I feel a new sense of satisfaction. I'm not just talking about something that maybe I thought was cool, I'm talking about sheer brilliance that hopefully everyone else will recognize.
It's hard to talk about an ending scene without spoiling any tiny bit of it. There's a lot to Michael Clayton's plot, especially the final scene that could be spoiled, but it's that thrill and mystery that makes the movie so damn good. I'll do my best to stray away from any major spoilers, but if you're interested in keeping entirely clean, then I suggest coming back after you've seen it to discuss the ending.
The film continually builds and builds as the plot develops and more is discovered on all sides. You're waiting for that reveal and to figure it all out and once you do, it's still not over. After that you're trying to figure out how Michael's going to put the end cap on it all and how's he going to get "them." From the beginning when that jolt out on the country road throws you headfirst into the story and once it loops all the way back around, you've built up so much energy and anticipation that it's going to be one hell of an exhale.
From BuzzFlash: We aren't going to spoil things by revealing the ending, you'll just have to see it for yourself. But this is a thriller about corporate greed and a lawyer-"fixer" who comes to find his moral bearings. It has been compared to John Grisham's work and rightfully so, but with the punch of a cast that was nominated in three of the four top Academy Award categories. That doesn't happen often, particularly for a film of this genre.
Roger Ebert gives "Michael Clayton" Four Stars:
The central reality of the story is that the corporation is guilty, it is being sued for billions, the law firm knows it is guilty, it is being paid millions to run the defense, and now Arthur Edens holds the smoking gun and it's not quite all he's holding when he runs naked through the parking lot.
Enough of the plot. Naming the film after Michael Clayton is an indication that the story centers on his life, his loyalties, his being just about fed up. Arthur Edens is a treasured friend of his, a bipolar victim who has stopped taking his pills and now glows with reckless zeal and conviction. We meet Clayton's family, we get a sense of the corporate culture he inhabits, we sense how controlling the risks of other people sends him to the poker tables to create and confront his own risks as sort of an antidote.
The legal/business thriller genre has matured in the last 20 years, led by authors like John Grisham and actors like Michael Douglas. It involves high stakes, hidden guilt, desperation to contain information and mighty executives blindsided by gotcha! moments. We're invited to be seduced by the designer offices, the clubs, the cars, the clothes, the drinks, the perfect corporate worlds in which sometimes only the rest room provides a safe haven.
I don't know what vast significance "Michael Clayton" has (it involves deadly pollution but isn't a message movie). But I know it is just about perfect as an exercise in the genre. I've seen it twice, and the second time, knowing everything that would happen, I found it just as fascinating because of how well it was all shown happening. It's not about the destination but the journey, and when the stakes become so high that lives and corporations are on the table, it's spellbinding to watch the Clooney and Swinton characters eye to eye, raising each other, both convinced that the other is bluffing.
From the New York Times film review:
Dark in color, mood and outraged worldview, “Michael Clayton” is a film that speaks to the way we live now. Or at least, the way certain masters of the universe do, as they prowl the jungle in their sleek rides, armed with killer instincts and the will to power. It’s a story about ethics and their absence, a slow-to-boil requiem for American decency in which George Clooney, the ultimate in luxury brands and playboy of the Western world, raises the sword in the name of truth and justice and good. Well, someone’s got to do it.
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