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Michael Clayton is the type of film that is never entirely sure of what it is and what it was supposed to be. Is it a John Grisham-like legal thriller with chills and spills? Well, sort of. Is it an expose into corporate politics and how said politics affect the common working man? Perhaps. Is it the study of a character, the titular Michael Clayton, and how his life has managed to remain both mundane and completely spun out of control at the same time? Maybe. To be totally honest, I am not really sure what kind of a film Michael Clayton is. And this is probably why I wish I would have enjoyed it more.
George Clooney is Michael Clayton, a “fixer” for a prestigious law firm handling the case of an unscrupulous agro-business corporation, UNorth. Clayton gets embroiled in endless schemes, some even murderous, by UNorth and its sinister chief executive officer played with WASPy, albeit androgynous, coolness by British actress Tilda Swinton (the eponymous White Witch of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). In the meantime, the audience gets an overwrought glimpse into Michael Clayton’s life outside his job. I suppose that this glimpse was to persuade us to somehow feel sympathetic for Clayton. Unfortunately, it did not. I think maybe that’s because it's difficult to feel bad for George Clooney in almost any situation, fictional or not. Michael Clayton and its title role were supposed to be Clooney’s pinnacle achievement of a really up and down acting career, but suffice to say, it just did not accomplish that task. Clooney’s a fine actor, and a genuine movie star, but in Michael Clayton, he really does not have a whole lot to do. He stands there, looks dour, complains a little bit, and then just stares off into space. I guess the studio just assumed that they could at least recoup their costs by having George Clooney stand there on screen and look like, well, George Clooney. Now, that idea could work, probably with either Jessica Alba or Megan Fox, but I digress…
Michael Clayton does boast an impressive supporting cast including the aforementioned Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, and legendary filmmaker Sidney Pollack as Clayton’s boss. However, what impressed me most was the addition of two 80s cinematic icons, Michael O’Keefe and Robert Prescott, to the cast. For those that do not remember, O’Keefe portrayed Danny Noonan in Caddyshack, while Prescott maybe harder to remember. He played the villainous foils in two of my favorite 80s classics: Bachelor Party and Real Genius. I was hoping for more out of Michael Clayton and Michael Clayton. Deep within a dense, boring, insipid film lay a really interesting and entertaining story and character. What’s most surprising is that George Clooney will likely receive his second Oscar for Michael Clayton for basically not doing much besides looking like George Clooney.
Grade: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars
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