That list begs the question: Is Michael Clayton worthy of the hype? Most definitely, yes. This is a gripping, haunting story, and the three acting nominees are at their best, along with Sydney Pollack. Austin Williams is also very affecting as Michael’s son, Henry.
Who is Michael (Clooney)? He’s the “fixer” in a big New York law firm. We get to see a little of his usual work in the beginning, when he gets a call to help out a firm client who’s just been the aggressor in a hit and run. As Michael is leaving from the client’s house to head back to the city, he pulls over and gets out of his car, his attention caught by some horses in a field. Good thing, too, because within a few minutes a bomb goes off and the car is gone. Hmmm …
Flash back to four days earlier, and the story that led to the explosion begins. Michael is called in to fix a major fiasco: The firm’s lead counsel on a very big class-action suit against their client, a major pesticide company, has just gone off the deep end during a deposition, stripping naked and running after a young female plaintiff and her attorney, through a public parking lot. The messed-up lawyer is Arthur Edens (Wilkinson), and he and Michael go way back. Turns out Arthur is off his meds; it’s happened before, and Michael goes into clean-up mode, but this is not so simple a problem to solve.
Swinton plays Karen Crowder, the pesticide firm’s head lawyer. She’s both uptight and very insecure in her job, and she won’t, and can’t, take Arthur’s meltdown lightly. She’s not impressed by Michael, who she meets briefly. She doesn’t recognize him for what he is, just dismisses him as some lackey who hasn’t even been able to make partner at his firm. When the hired goons she puts on Arthur’s tail turn up evidence that he has materials he shouldn’t have and plans to use them against her company, she overreacts in a very big way.
Michael has other things to worry about besides whatever is going on with Arthur. He’s trying to get out of debt from a failed venture with his younger brother, a drunk and drug addict. And, as we learn, Michael has a history of gambling, which doesn’t sit well with his older brother, a cop. Michael is also divorced, and shares custody of Henry. There aren’t a lot of scenes with the two of them, but what’s there is very moving, particularly a conversation in the car after the wayward brother has shown up as Michael and Henry are leaving a family gathering. In my view, Clooney’s acting in that scene alone is Oscar-worthy, as he tries to convince Henry that Henry won’t end up like his uncle. Is Michael also trying to convince himself that he isn’t headed on that route either?
The last third of the movie has great action, and the ending, in particular, is terrific. Gilroy wrote a complex but believable story, and then got an outstanding cast to do top-rate work.
There aren’t many special features, but I guess this isn’t the kind of movie you’d really do a “making of” for. What’s here is a commentary track with Gilroy and his brother John, who edited the film. There are also some additional scenes, and I strongly recommend you watch them, perhaps even before watching the film. They help to explain just what it is that Michael does in much more detail, and also really show how soul-sapping his job must be at times. The first of the deleted scenes, in particular, adds a great deal to understanding the character. According to the commentary track (optional with the deleted scenes), it was cut only because of time concerns, but I wish they’d found a way to keep it in. I felt I understood Michael much, much better after watching it. (And it includes a strong performance by Jennifer Ehle, who’s not in the film otherwise.)
Technical specs: Dolby 5.1 Surround and Dolby Digital Stereo (English), Dolby 5.1 French and Spanish language tracks. English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Michael Clayton is about corporate greed and human failings. The leads make characters that could fall into stereotypes real; like the individuals or despise them, you’ll at least understand what drives them. There is clear good and clear evil here, but also many, many layers in between.