Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007): USA

Reviewed by Byron Potau. Viewed on DVD.

After watching Tony Gilroy’s debut film, Michael Clayton, in the wake of the film’s numerous Academy Award nominations, something became apparent; either Hollywood had a bad year or Michael Clayton is an overrated film.  The answer is a little of both.

The film follows law firm fixer, Michael, played by George Clooney, as he uncovers a cover up, exposed to him by lawyer and colleague Arthur, played by Tom Wilkinson, by a large corporation whose pesticides have caused the deaths of several people and put others at risk.  The story is nothing we have not seen before, and is in fact it very clichéd, but it is well executed with solid acting.

The question here is does the film really deserve all the accolades it has received.  The answer is no.  Michael Clayton is 2007’s answer to 1993’s The Firm.  Among the film’s undeserved nominations are Best Picture, Director, and, especially, actor, and Tilda Swinton’s performance is the kind that gets nominated just to push the number of nominees to five.  That is not to say that she is not good, but the role is really nothing special and her performance is nothing that a number of other actresses could not match given the same material.  The bottom line is that it is a good, enjoyable movie and a credit to those involved in making it, but it is nothing close to great.