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.
