Hi all,
Garnering response to catch Tony Gilroy's debut, Michael Clayton. George Clooney starrs. There will only be an outing if there are 4 or more participants.
Date: Saturday, 29 Dec
Meeting Time: 9.30pm
Showtime: 11.40pm
Place: GV Plaza
Movie Trailer: Michael Clayton
There are already several nominations for this film at the Golden Globe Awards, best motion picture and best actor.
Movie Stills: (swiped from MSN movies)
IGN Review: Todd Gilchrist
In a filmmaking climate where movies like The Bourne Ultimatum are standard-bearers for on-screen examinations of conspiracy theories, black ops and assassination plots, it's no small reassurance that the same filmmakers are as interested in the harsh realties as the more glamorous aspects of these subjects. Tony Gilroy adapted all three Bourne movies from their source material and did an amazing job turning Robert Ludlum's books into digestible pieces of action cinema -- not to mention ones bolstered by complex political subplots and personal entanglements. But it turns out that his work on that series was merely a prelude to something even more complicated and compelling.
Michael Clayton, his directorial debut, is to the Bourne films what Lord of the Rings is to Harry Potter -- namely, an even more mature and adult version of the same kind of sophisticated storytelling. In the film, George Clooney plays the title character, a "fixer" at a large corporate law firm who is caught between professional responsibility and personal principle when an attorney and close friend named Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) shows signs that he might jeopardize a class action suit brought against one of their biggest clients. What starts as a private matter ultimately becomes a massive debacle that Clayton is forced to deal with, and one which removes (for him and the audience) the veneer of cool detachment that we've come to associate with corporate conspiracies and decisions made in the so-called name of "the greater good."
An opening scene with Clayton sets the stage not only for his character, but the film's tone. After he drives upstate to speak with a client who accidentally hit a jogger with his car, Clayton amazingly suggests that the bigwig contact a local attorney -- a seeming contradiction to his status as a fixer, not to mention the client's longstanding relationship with Clayton's law firm. Unsurprisingly, the client is incredulous, quoting Clayton's boss as saying that the man is a miracle worker. To which he responds, "He misspoke." Instead of being a slick, virtual superhero who believes his own press, either by necessity or design, Clayton is an otherwise unassuming guy who happens to be connected to the right people in the right ways and who can call in a favor or press the flesh when the need arises.
This atmosphere of realism persists even when the circumstances of the court case intensify and tough decisions must be made about Edens. During a conversation between Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) and two of her associates, she asks what alternate options are available if they can't prove that the lawyer is incompetent or just plain crazy. His response is somewhat predictably vague, "We deal in absolutes." To which she replies, "OK." He looks at her for a second and asks, "OK, you understand? Or OK, you want us to take care of this?" In any other movie, these decisions would be made unhesitatingly, with cruel, callous calculation, not the consideration of real repercussions. And it's to the credit of the movie that it manages to exercise that level of intrigue, yet keep the proceedings based in a semblance of believability.
As a director, Gilroy has a good storytelling sense; Clayton's unraveling reality is documented with methodical precision, demonstrating how predictably disorganized his own life is despite a high-paying job that requires him to sweep indiscretions under a massive corporate rug. Indeed, he never vilifies even the tale's would-be heavies, showing how some of them (such as Swinton's Crowder) are merely doing their best to solve problems with the tools at hand, while others function completely out of the sphere of knowledge -- as much for their personal benefit as detachment from the decision-making process.
And while I was reminded of his self-justifying turn in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, even Sydney Pollack's corporate honcho Marty Bach is given the benefit of the doubt with regards to his knowledge (much less authorization) of his employees and underlings' questionably moral (not to mention legal) actions. All of which adds up beautifully in the film's final moments as Gilroy takes the conventions of a man's redemption story and makes them fresh again: Clayton isn't a loser with a sellout job who needs to reassert his identity, but a part of a machine that he recognizes is already too broken for him to repair. That the director explores the character's pragmatism rather than his ability to manipulate others demonstrates a level of restraint and intelligence that few films today possess.
Whether or not audiences respond to this degree of subtlety (much less recognize it) remains to be seen, especially since the flash and style of movies like Bourne is so understandably irresistible (to myself included). But ultimately, the straightforward and realistic depiction of these characters and events is what defines the film, and what distinguishes it from others that sometimes create sensationalism in the name of exploring "the truth." In fact, Michael Clayton's only real shortcoming is its name -- seldom has a more complex and interesting story been given a simpler, less appealing title. But then again, that's sort of the point: In this particular movie, there won't be any ultimatums or supremacies, only straightforward identities.
