Poweful movie--Best George Clooney Film Out There
Added 1/19/2010
George is a middle age lawyer. He has a "niche"; he is a fixer. He "fixes" the problems of the rich and powerful: CEO's, Congressmen, or anybody else with money. He calls himself a "janitor" cleaning up the messes of the well to do. All the while, he is listed in the firm as "wills and trust" attorney. He has been doing this for 15 years, and he is sick of it; he want to do something else, or maybe just be someone else.
He wants out of the world of big shot high powered corporate life. He talks about his "walking away money". But the money disappeared in a bad business deal which is not really explained, a resteruant/bar operation. A family member was the business partner, and was to be blamed. Then there is the muscle or maybe the actually loan shark, he wants his money and is pressuring Clooney, while Cooney liquidates the business.
While this is going on a corporation, U-North, a chemical/pestacide company is facing litigation--massive litigation that Clooney's firm is representing. Things head south and case goes bad, real bad. The corporation calls in a crew and "goes the other way", to terminate the problem lawyer. Clooney gets because he is the firm's fixer. Their methods are stealthy, appear well thought out.
The film itself has powerful actors, a good script. I was not Clooney fan until I saw this film; it has a powerful scene with just Clooney, no words, but a infinite amount of acting skills. The scene blows me away. The film has some great one liners, Sydney Pollack, says" 15 years in and I have to tell you how we pay the bills around here." The film has a massive twist that blows your mind too. I found Clooney's comments about his "walking away money" to be meaningful and even insightful, even if they are simple.
Clooney is struggaling in his mid life; he wants out; I connected with that.
Good film, I believe it received an Oscar.
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Well written movie that's more than just another thriller
Added 1/18/2010
This is a good movie, one of the best I've seen in several years. Is "bad corporation meets corrupt lawyers" a new idea? No. And its been done very well before, most notably in "The Verdict".
But it's been a while since "The Verdict" and "Michael Clayton" is a lot better than similar movies in this genre. That's because, like "The Verdict" it's the acting and the writing and directing that combine to make the movie so good. It's not the plot. It's not the action (there isn't really very much) or even the sense of menace that you expect from this.
Clooney's character is similar to Paul Newman's in "The Verdict". He's backed into a corner professionally and financially, his personal life seems rather glum, but he hasn't yet hit rock-bottom like Newman's had. And Clooney does a solid job of showing the increasingly desperate and burned out guy who's still got a heart, still got his honesty, still basically always doing the right thing. He's morally and spiritually still quite a few steps above Newman's character. He hasn't quite hit rock-bottom...yet. Clooney is very good with these guys--very good at showing the inner beat-down soul of someone who's still trying to sell himself to the world (much like he does in the also very good, "Up in the Air").
And I disagree completely with some who said Wilkinson overacts. I thought the dialogue and performance were absolutely perfect (more like schizophrenia than manic depression but still, pitch perfect).
The plot is predictable, but the writing and performances are a cut above. (Plus, it's always great to see Sidney Pollock in character. I wish he did more of them).
Good movie. Very good.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Outstanding the first viewing, and gets better
Added 12/26/2009
I must confess that this is, in my opinion, one of the better movies made over the past five years. The writing is fantastic, the direction sure and able, and the performances by all those involved--Clooney, Swinton, Wilkinson, Pollack, et al--are spot on. I just purchased this on Blu Ray, and as I have few such discs and want to give my new player a good work out, I've watched this a half a dozen times in the past month. It keeps getting better.
While it may not be the ideal disc to showcase what the blu ray format can do, the picture quality is fantastic, right down to the salt-and-pepper stubble on Clooney's beard. Sound is also impressive; excellent stereo imaging in both the front and rear.
I recommend this movie as highly as any I have seen over the past several years. It is excellent and holds up to repeated viewing (often on the same day).
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Competent but Mechanical
Added 12/8/2009
This chilly entry in the legal thriller genre is nicely produced, well-written, and skillfully acted by George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and the immensely talented Tom Wilkinson (an interesting point of comparison is Wilkinson's work as the garden gnome collector in "The Full Monty"). The trouble is that it does not offer anything new. A nasty corporation spews cancerous pesticides and gets hit with a class action lawsuit. Some of the lawyers in the defense firm develop consciences at the last minute, even though we see through the back story that those consciences are going to cost them dearly. The filmmakers seem to have been trying to do something new with a stale story. Good for them for avoiding a lot of overheated grandstanding speech-making, but the pendulum swings too far in the other direction. Photographed in blues and grays against bleak interiors and winter landscapes, "Michael Clayton," like many George Clooney films, maintains too much cool, ironic distance for its own good. This is unfortunate, since if what one reads is not just publicists' tricks, George Clooney is one of the most decent human beings in Hollywood.
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A brief comment
Added 11/7/2009
This is a dark, brooding, moody corporate thriller about a lawyer who works as a "fixer," a roving troubleshooter who does everything from going after runaway housewives to fixing high stakes corporate lawsuits when problems crop up. In this case the story revolves around the case of a corrupt agribusiness company that is fighting a multi-billion dollar class action suit stemming from their marketing of a dangerous pesticide which it manufactures and has concealed evidence of its harmful effects.
George Clooney is utterly convincing as the conflicted fixer who wants to get out but who desperately needs the money to pay off his gambling debts, and Tom Wilkinson is possibly even greater as the brilliant but wacked out attorney who is defending the agribusiness company. When he goes off his medication and has a psychotic break and temporarily goes AWOL, it's Clooney's job to find him and get him back on his meds. I'm not familiar with the woman who played the company's chief counsel but she is excellent too. All the main leads do a fine job, in fact, and the slow pacing allows the story to unfold unhurriedly as the suspense builds to the satisfying climax.
It's a suspenseful and intense movie from beginning to end. Overall a good flick and especially if you're a Clooney fan you'll want to give this one a look.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Poweful movie--Best George Clooney Film Out There
Added 1/19/2010
George is a middle age lawyer. He has a "niche"; he is a fixer. He "fixes" the problems of the rich and powerful: CEO's, Congressmen, or anybody else with money. He calls himself a "janitor" cleaning up the messes of the well to do. All the while, he is listed in the firm as "wills and trust" attorney. He has been doing this for 15 years, and he is sick of it; he want to do something else, or maybe just be someone else.
He wants out of the world of big shot high powered corporate life. He talks about his "walking away money". But the money disappeared in a bad business deal which is not really explained, a resteruant/bar operation. A family member was the business partner, and was to be blamed. Then there is the muscle or maybe the actually loan shark, he wants his money and is pressuring Clooney, while Cooney liquidates the business.
While this is going on a corporation, U-North, a chemical/pestacide company is facing litigation--massive litigation that Clooney's firm is representing. Things head south and case goes bad, real bad. The corporation calls in a crew and "goes the other way", to terminate the problem lawyer. Clooney gets because he is the firm's fixer. Their methods are stealthy, appear well thought out.
The film itself has powerful actors, a good script. I was not Clooney fan until I saw this film; it has a powerful scene with just Clooney, no words, but a infinite amount of acting skills. The scene blows me away. The film has some great one liners, Sydney Pollack, says" 15 years in and I have to tell you how we pay the bills around here." The film has a massive twist that blows your mind too. I found Clooney's comments about his "walking away money" to be meaningful and even insightful, even if they are simple.
Clooney is struggaling in his mid life; he wants out; I connected with that.
Good film, I believe it received an Oscar.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Well written movie that's more than just another thriller
Added 1/18/2010
This is a good movie, one of the best I've seen in several years. Is "bad corporation meets corrupt lawyers" a new idea? No. And its been done very well before, most notably in "The Verdict".
But it's been a while since "The Verdict" and "Michael Clayton" is a lot better than similar movies in this genre. That's because, like "The Verdict" it's the acting and the writing and directing that combine to make the movie so good. It's not the plot. It's not the action (there isn't really very much) or even the sense of menace that you expect from this.
Clooney's character is similar to Paul Newman's in "The Verdict". He's backed into a corner professionally and financially, his personal life seems rather glum, but he hasn't yet hit rock-bottom like Newman's had. And Clooney does a solid job of showing the increasingly desperate and burned out guy who's still got a heart, still got his honesty, still basically always doing the right thing. He's morally and spiritually still quite a few steps above Newman's character. He hasn't quite hit rock-bottom...yet. Clooney is very good with these guys--very good at showing the inner beat-down soul of someone who's still trying to sell himself to the world (much like he does in the also very good, "Up in the Air").
And I disagree completely with some who said Wilkinson overacts. I thought the dialogue and performance were absolutely perfect (more like schizophrenia than manic depression but still, pitch perfect).
The plot is predictable, but the writing and performances are a cut above. (Plus, it's always great to see Sidney Pollock in character. I wish he did more of them).
Good movie. Very good.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Outstanding the first viewing, and gets better
Added 12/26/2009
I must confess that this is, in my opinion, one of the better movies made over the past five years. The writing is fantastic, the direction sure and able, and the performances by all those involved--Clooney, Swinton, Wilkinson, Pollack, et al--are spot on. I just purchased this on Blu Ray, and as I have few such discs and want to give my new player a good work out, I've watched this a half a dozen times in the past month. It keeps getting better.
While it may not be the ideal disc to showcase what the blu ray format can do, the picture quality is fantastic, right down to the salt-and-pepper stubble on Clooney's beard. Sound is also impressive; excellent stereo imaging in both the front and rear.
I recommend this movie as highly as any I have seen over the past several years. It is excellent and holds up to repeated viewing (often on the same day).
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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