Michael Clayton (2007)

All I knew about Michael Clayton before watching was that it had a load of acting Oscar nominations, and Tilda Swinton won hers. It turned out to be a compelling John Grisham-type thriller, i.e. a talky, business mystery rather than something full of car chases and explosions - although a car does explode in the first 15 minutes.

George Clooney plays Clayton, a lawyer who's a Mr. Fix It, someone his bosses send in when situations look dire to smooth things over, such as when Tom Wilkinson's partner seems to lose his marbles during a hearing on a long-running legal matter for a company that is being sued for umm... Something to do with harmful chemicals. Anyway, that doesn't matter so much. What matters is that Tilda Swinton will stop at nothing to prevent Clayton, who grows a conscience as the movie goes on and he realises the truth behind the legal situation, from being the good guy and exposing the corrupt company. 

It's very difficult to summarise the plot - it's one of those thriller-mysteries where the revelations are revealed slowly, and you've got to stick with it and not worry when you don't know what's going on or who anybody is. People who have to know what's going on at every moment in a film really bug me, part of the joy of watching movies is being surprised and even confused, and being open to developments happening in their own time. Michael Clayton could be described as a bit slow if you didn't have the patience to enjoy the powerhouse performances of the leads but I thought it was riveting. I do love a movie that doesn't insult your intelligence and lets you put things together. 

George Clooney's great here, I'm quickly learning to love him in anything I've seen him in. As Michael Clayton the character is a bit like Ryan Bingham, the protagonist in Up in the Air, but without the playful humour and quirks. Michael Clayton is played very straight, unusually for a Clooney film, although I suppose I've seen him in the Ocean's films and Coen brothers movies for the most part where humour is a key ingredient. Even serious though, Clooney is never less than magnetic as a screen presence. He deserves an Oscar someday. Swinton is great here, though her lack of significant screen time I wasn't sure made her stand out as Oscar worthy, even in the supporting category. Clayton was written and directed by Tony Gilroy, who wrote the Bourne trilogy, and it shows, which is a massive recommendation for the movie.