Rating: R
Starring: George Clooney, Sydney Pollack, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson
Directed by: Tony Gilroy

• Official Site

Michael Clayton, the new legal/corporate thriller from Warner Brothers, is a film immersed in suspense with Oscar® worthy performances. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton is about a "firm" (Clooney) working for one of the largest corporate law firms in New York City.

Clayton, a former criminal prosecutor, is given an assignment by his supervisor and co-founder of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, Marty Bach (Pollack), to clean up the dirty legal residue left by a corporation known as U/North (one of the corporate law firm"s biggest clients).

Meanwhile, with U/North facing a three billion dollar class action lawsuit, it is up to their chief counsel Karen Crowder (Swinton) to pressure the 450 people seeking justice against the corporation to accept a multi-million dollar settlement, thus saving money for the company and her professional career.

When a Kenner, Bach & Ledeen conscience-stricken attorney, Arthur Edens (Wilkinson), decides to sabotage the U/North case, everything unravels, putting Clayton in a precarious position of survival that he never could have imagined. Clayton, who describes himself as "a janitor" because he cleans up corporate messes, is, ultimately, confronted with the greatest threat to both his career and life.

Michael Clayton is sure to be on many critics' top ten list for this coming year. With a mixture of economic greed and manipulation, this somewhat non-linear film successfully presents a multi-layered cinematic experience of underground corporate secrets that will keep the audience salivating for more as the movie progresses. The film is dialogue-driven with a number of intelligent characters that hold the viewer in a state of perpetual suspense until the closing credits.

If there is one flaw with Michael Clayton, it would be the kind of ending to a movie that requires the audience to suspend disbelief just a tad. But, as is the case with most films, many patrons may consider that a prerequisite for two hours of theatrical entertainment.

As mentioned, the acting is superb with a few Oscar® worthy performances (Clooney, Wilkinson, and Swinton). Writer/director Tony Gilroy (son of the playwright Frank D. Gilroy) was nominated for his work on Michael Clayton at this year's Venice Film Festival, with nominations from other award ceremonies likely to come. The cinematography created by Robert Elswit (Good Night and Good Luck and Syriana) is marvelous, with a mixture of light and dark undertones that help increase the tension as the plot unfolds.

Final synopsis: If you're looking for two hours of rapid, heart-pounding suspense filled with corporate mischief, then Michael Clayton should be at the top of your movie wish-list.

This Reviewer's Rating: 4 / 5

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."