MOVIE REVIEW: MICHAEL CLAYTON
Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is not your run-of-the-mill lawyer. Working in one of New York’s top firms, Clayton’s job is to “clean up” the mess of other lawyers/clients. What sets him apart are his contacts – in the government, in the police force and in other law firms around the country. He is definitely a flawed character – a seemingly indifferent father and addicted gambler. He is not what you would call the “noble lawyer”.
The film’s beginning sets a suspenseful tone which carries the whole 2 hours, however, after the first act, the plot becomes fairly predictable. This is not a wholly terrible thing, as the direction (Terry Gilroy) keeps you guessing when the next plot turn will happen, not if it will happen. And this is probably the greatest weakness of the film. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess what will happen, and how the protagonist will respond.
After making a house call on a client who was just involved in a hit and run, Clayton takes a drive to where the accident happened. What occurs next doesn’t really make much sense until you get to the end of the movie – Clayton steps out of his flash Mercedes to take a breather with a harras of horses. What happens next will be the only “jump in your seat” surprise of the film. What follows is the recent history leading up to that point, which includes corporate conspiracies, mentally unstable lawyers and a twisted love story.
In terms of being a critique of the corporate world or class-action litigation, the film fails on both counts – first for being completely over the top (I cannot imagine any large corporation or general counsel doing what they do in this film), and because there was no need for the evil-doers to pursue such a villainous course to achieve their aims. From the side of the “good guys”, Clayton does not actually make any moral decisions during the film – his pursuit of the bad guys only starts once other people have started connecting the dots for him, and culminates only after things get personal. By the end of the film, I left with the feeling that Clayton’s character ends how it began, without any nobility gained.
Tilda Swinston, playing in-house lawyer Karen Chowder, for my mind provided the best performance. Although Chowder is the villain in this corporate drama, in Swinston’s skilful hands, she comes across as the all-too-loyal servant who is in over her head. (She reminded me of so many managers/supervisors I have had who display very little scruples when it comes to saving their own skin.) It is Chowder and not Clayton who faces the moral dilemmas – and I am not too sure that, if faced with a similar predicament, that Clayton would have chosen the better path.
Michael Clayton has received rave reviews both here in Australia and around the world – however, I am convinced that much of this is due to Clooney’s cachet. By the end, the bad guys were just too malevolent to be any real critique on today’s corporate world, and I am not convinced that the good guys are really all that good.
One Man’s Rating (out of 5): 
