Review of Michael Clayton (2007) by Tonypolito — 14 Nov 2010

Fast moving, complex plot, spot-on delivery by Clooney.

Clooney plays a sharp-witted, trouble-shooting gopher inside a large Manhattan law firm - that didn't respect his legal pedigree sufficiently to put him on a partner/equity track. So instead he's stumbled into the role of a high-speed "fixer" of client problems that are barely tangent to the firm's legal operations.

Now, after twenty years in, he's no longer on his game and the firm knows it - they have a merger in the oven that may leave Clooney out in the cold. He vested in a bar as his emergency escape hatch, but now the bar's been "busted out" by partners of the type who are quick to add "points" to loans and prefer their balloon payments on Fridays.

Plus Clooney can't steer clear of the cards or the ponies.

Add to that bubbling cauldron that the firm now expects Clooney to put the toothpaste back in the tube regarding one of its own - a key man who's blown a mental gasket six years into defending a huge conglomerate against massive product liability claims. If he turns into a loose cannon, causing a quick move to settle, the conglomerate, the firm - and so Clooney - will pay dearly.

Clooney's clock is running double-time - and there's not enough hours in the few days he's got left.

There's a bit of 'redemption' element - a la "The Verdict" - in the film, but it's really the unfolding suspense of the reasonably twisty and crafted screenplay - and the strong dramatic performance by Clooney - that carries the viewer to the film's conclusion.

RECOMMENDATION: It's Clooney's best work to date - even the silent expressions Clooney delivers under the final credits are memorable - and his delivery yields the film a strong thumbs up.