MICHAEL CLAYTON: George Clooney with a Twist


MICHAEL CLAYTON.

Not exactly a movie title that enthralls, excites, and gives you a cool shiver of anticipation. The movie poster even screams boring with George Clooney sporting a ash grey suit looking slightly distressed. But once you get past the bland exterior, you uncover an enjoyable legal thriller with twists that can be anticipated if you've read any John Grisham novels.

George Clooney plays an intelligent, quirky Everyman with a chiseled jawline and a disarming smile named Michael Clayton. If this description sounds familiar, it's because HE'S PLAYING HIMSELF!!!! Except he gets to wear a smart business suit and pretend he's a lawyer. And Clooney does play this character extremely well. So much so that you can't distinguish where Clooney ends and Clayton begins. (Hint: they're one and the same) What boggles my boggler is how Clooney ends up getting a Best Actor selection for playing himself. He didn't put on a prosthetic nose to look ugly (the Academy eats the Attractive-Person-Plays-Ug
ly-Person up like Chiclets). He didn't put on an accent or try to overcome a delibitating disease.

Unlike the other Best Actor nominees, Clooney doesn't even stretch himself outside his comfort zone. He wasn't a sadistic barber (Depp), an eccentric oil tycoon (Day-Lewis), a Russian immigrant caught up in crime (Mortensen), or...er...Tommy Lee Jones (ok I don't know what his character is all about but if Clooney and Jones are acting like themselves in an Acting War, I take Jones any day.) Bottom line, Clooney can act but I would've expected more from a Best Actor nominee.

Karen Crowder (the amazing Tilda Swinton of indie films like Thumbsucker and Broken Flowers) is a high powered corporate executive looking to protect her company's best interests at all costs. This puts her in direct opposition with Michael Clayton's crusade to fulfill his dead friend's mission to overthrow her company.

Who succeeds in the end? Therein lies the twist.

This is a good movie to sit down with your favourite copy of "Federal Jurisdiction in a Nutshell" by David P. Currie...or some other cozy legal read. If you like a smart thinking thriller, this tort's for you.


7 colour copies of damning evidence out of 10

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