Michael Clayton
Director: Tony Gilroy
Year Released: 2007
Rating: 2.0
Legal "cleaner" Clayton (George Clooney in Sad Mode) - he takes care of problems no one else wants to deal with - gets involved with a case involving a lunatic corporation being sued by people who claim their product gave them cancer after the original attorney from his firm (Tom Wilkinson in Rain Man Mode) cracks up. The picture is moody and Clooney's performance is competent (he lends an air of authority to so many of his roles - I'm thinking it's the suit - even when I'm not entirely sure why he's so coveted besides the fact he doesn't appear to panic), but the movie is purposely vague for a reason: the material, if elaborated on, would strike most people as being too familiar. Further, those pesky little faults that are sprinkled throughout add up in the long run (the symbolism of the Little Red Book and the meeting with the horses, Wilkinson's performance being a bit off) - its dedication to being a Serious Picture makes it a little ho-hum.
