Michael Clayton

Michael Clayton, penned and directed by "Bourne" screenwriter Tony Gilroy, is a legal thriller that contains no courtroom grandstanding, nail-biting cross-examination, or surprise witnesses. Rather than being about the law, Clayton is about lawyers, and what goes on in the deep, dark recesses of their beings. Three lawyers, each very different, are examined ethically, personally, and dramatically by the film: Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney; Arthur Edens, played by Tom Wilkinson; and Karen Crowder, played by Tilda Swinton.

Clayton is a "fixer" at a huge NY law firm, that is, he cleans up problems, criminal and ethical, that other corporate attorneys can't handle. One day, Clayton gets a call from the managing partner directing him to fly to Milwaukee to "handle" a problem: Arthur Edens, a senior litigator at the firm, has ripped off his clothes in the middle of a deposition and run stark-raving mad through the streets. It seems that Arthur, who was the head litigator on a $3 billion class action lawsuit representing a huge agricultural corporation, "uNorth," went off his medications and lost touch with reality. Arthur sees it differently, of course, and he explains it to Michael in a fantastic comical-tragic monologue played (in a non linear fashion) during the opening credits. Arthur tells Michael that he can't stomach defending the "bad guys" anymore and he has to get out and make things right.

Meanwhile, uNorth's general counsel, Karen Crowder, is on damage control. She sees Edens, correctly, as a loose cannon that is one move away from threatening the defense of the lawsuit, and thereby the survival of the corporation. Crowder takes steps to secure sensitive information and tries to limit Edens' effect on the case, and she leaves no doors unopened. Clayton, who is also trying to pacify Edens, is also unwittingly playing a chess match with Crowder that will lead to a high-stakes climax in which both characters' resolve will be tested.

The plot is very simple, but the movie is filmed with such intensity and is written so tightly that to the audience, it feels like there's more happening than there actually is (or that more is going to happen than actually will happen). This effect allows the director to avoid "plot-filling" and focus on the characters, and allows the actors to deliver some tour de force performances, that will, I predict, lead to some nominations in '08.

Specifically, Wilkinson, who is constantly amazing in everything he does, from his bubbling frustration in In the Bedroom to his malevolent innocence as the doctor in Eternal Sunshine, creates a real character, who, though probably clinically insane, accurately reflects an attorney's anguish over moral dilemmas and regret over lost time through billable hours. Swinton portrays the opposite side of the coin: cold ambition and fear of failure bordering on cowardice. Clooney is subtle yet forceful as a man with real integrity who is trapped in a no-win situation.

A plusses all around. See this film.