Straight to DVD

Michael Clayton

It's spring, which, to the homebound parent, means Oscar season! As soon as the nominees and winners make their way onto DVD, we put them atop our Netflix queue, eager to get back into cultural sync with everyone who doesn't have young kids. (Perhaps I will soon finally understand why Anton Chigurh is so scary ... but more on that soon.)

This year, our first big Oscar movie was Michael Clayton. George Clooney plays the title character, a "fixer" for Kenner, Bach and Odeen, a high-powered New York City law firm, who solves non-courtroom problems for its lawyers and clients any way he can. His latest task is to get things back under control after brilliant but manic-depressive senior partner Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) goes off his meds, then strips naked and (perhaps worse) expresses his agreement with the plaintiffs' position during a deposition for a class-action lawsuit on which he's lead counsel. U/North, the giant conglomerate which has hired Kenner, Bach to defend it in the case, is not pleased, so Clayton is charged with getting Edens back on the farm.

There's quite a bit of pressure on him: The law firm is amid negotiations for a major merger, which might go south if U/North is forced to settle because of Edens. Meanwhile, Clayton himself owes a loan shark a large sum of money because his brother's profligacy and drug use have ruined a restaurant business they were setting up together. It's made clear to him that he'll get the money he needs from the firm if, and only if, he clears up the Edens situation.

And then there's U/North's own new head legal counsel, Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), who is determined to prove herself worthy of her new responsibility. When she discovers that Edens has kept a copy of a secret document that would prove the company's culpability in the suit, she panics and takes drastic action, with results that at first simplify, but then inevitably further complicate, both her and Clayton's situations.

The storyline is similar to that of many an evil-corporation thriller (Erin Brockovich comes to mind), but Michael Clayton's tone is refreshingly different, thanks largely to director-screenwriter Tony Gilroy (best known previously for his excellent scripts for the Bourne films). This is no action film—instead, it's slowly but expertly paced, patiently building tension as it goes. And it's decidedly talky, but that's not a bad thing, because it's wonderfully written: The dialogue grabs your attention with Wilkinson's electrifying opening monologue and never lets go.

Gilroy also has the benefit of a remarkable cast; all three of his leads deservedly got Oscar nominations. Clooney is excellent, playing Clayton with an irritated weariness that's soon shown to be covering a deep sadness; he's not just doing Clooney here. (The actor is often compared to suave classic film stars like Gable and Grant, but this is more of a Bogart role, and he's as convincing as ever in it.) And the always brilliant Swinton nails the desperation that turns her character into the film's villain. Her portrayal of Crowder's humanity provides a great example of the banality of evil.

But it's Wilkinson who really blew us away. His performance as a man whose mania has put him back in touch with a previously lost moral center—and whose new self-awareness fills him with both sorrow and joy—is astonishing, even gasp-inducing at times.

As usual, good writing, good direction, and good acting add up to a very strong film. I should add that Michael Clayton does have a grim worldview—it's no joyfest, not even indulging in much of the usual righteousness you find in this kind of movie. (There's no fist-pumping at the end, I'm afraid.) But it's happily free of kid endangerment, and unlike so many "serious" films, it's not at all difficult to watch. Quite the opposite, I would say.