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Rating: 5 out of 5
There are many big corporations in the world. Many of them have been hit with massive lawsuits. Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, and Lorillard were hit with a $206 billion settlement. It was the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history. Bayer agreed to pay nearly $11 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits because of their weed-killer product Roundup. How about the poster boy, Enron? They had to pay around $7.2 billion to reimburse the company’s investors and shareholders. All these companies have a litigation team that sits in court to defend them. Does each legal team have a Mr. Fix-It with their litigation team?
Written and directed by Tony Gilroy in his feature directorial debut, the film is about a lawyer, Michael Clayton (Clooney), who discovers a coverup over the effects of toxic agrochemicals. Clayton is a “fixer” for one of the largest and most prestigious NYC law firms. As a former criminal prosecutor, Clayton uses all his connections and knowledge of the law to take care of Kenner, Bach, & Ledeen’s dirtiest work at the behest of the firm’s co-founder, Marty Bach (Pollack). Clayton has hit on hard times as he is highly burned out, divorced, and in debt for $75k from an investment in a restaurant he made with his brother, which failed as his brother decided to fund his drug addiction. Clayton is in deep as he has gone to a loan shark who now wants his money in a week. Clayton turns to Marty for a loan when Marty states that Clayton must get a handle on Arthur Edens (Wilkinson), one of the firm’s leading attorneys. Arthur has a complete meltdown and a moment of clarity. One of the firm’s clients is U/North. Litigator Karen Crowder’s (Swinton) career rests on the multi-million-dollar settlement of a class-action suit that Clayton’s firm is leading. During Arthur’s meltdown, he sabotages the U/North case, and it’s up to Clayton to fix everything from his life and career.
I want to say that the plot of this film is exciting but also thrilling. Many lawyer-type films usually show a court case and the lawyers in court trying to convince a jury to either award some massive settlement or send someone to jail. Prime examples of these films are A Few Good Men and a Time to Kill. I want to say that this one revolves around a fixer and a lead lawyer having a freakin MASSIVE moment of clarity. Dude goes so far off the deep end that it requires one person to stop it all.
Rather than calling the film some courtroom drama name, it went with calling the film after the main character, and it works. We get to know Clayton as a man who works for a law firm as a fixer. The firm sends him out to fix things to help with their defense. We also see into the life of Clayton, from the relationship with his kid and ex-wife to the friends he has in the police force to his relationships with the people of the law firm. Through this, we get a thrilling look from outside the courtroom.
Love how the film starts off with a silent shot of Clayton parking his car and seeing three horses standing next to a tree. The horses look so peaceful as they look at him until his car freakin explodes. You wonder what the hell is going on and if his car just messed up. From that point, we go back to before everything happened and how they popped off. We see how Clayton uses his connections and knowledge of legal loopholes for clients’ benefit. Yet, one of the main side stories is that Clayton assumes the responsibility of a $75k debt from an investment by his brother to open up a restaurant that failed because of his drug addiction. Michael is held responsible for it because he went to a loan shark and is given one week to pay up.
The big story is when Clayton goes to his boss and tells him that the firm needs his help with getting lead attorney Arthur Edens under control. We see that Arthur has gone way off the deep end. Arthur completely loses his mind in the middle of a deposition. If you listen carefully, the deposition involves a multibillion-dollar six-year class-action lawsuit against client U-North, an agricultural products conglomerate. You see Arthur’s complete meltdown during a recording where he strips down and runs around in his tighty whites. Clayton has a tall task ahead of him but soon learns why Arthur did what he did because his clients are guilty.
On the other side is Karen Crowder, U-North’s general counsel. She leads the lawyers for her firm and soon discovers that Arthur possesses a confidential U-North memo proving the company knew their weed killer was carcinogenic. She brings it to the CEO because his signature is on the memo, which means shit got real. What does a shady CEO do?? He puts her in contact with two hitmen to rectify the situation with Arthur.
This leads to an explosive ending where everything comes in line with the start. As I stated, the story is gripping and keeps you interested. I thought that seeing someone losing their mind and all the messed-up shit that Clayton goes through to fix a high-profile case is fun to watch.
I would say the pacing is GREAT in this film. It’s not a slow draw where you see lawyers duking it out. It’s a pace where you understand what is going on and why Arthur has his meltdown. What I think that makes this movie work is all the small elements that keep it going are suspenseful. You have Clayton trying to do his job. You have Arthur running down the street with a bag full of bread. You have two hitmen trying to stop Arthur and Clayton. Finally, there is a lead counsel doing everything she can to sweep her client’s unwanted history under the rug. Many things happening all at once, and it’s fun to watch.
The acting in this film is fantastic and top-notch. George Clooney as Michael Clayton is fun to watch as he tries to fix his firm’s problems and his own. I will say this about Clooney; dude has a way of making everything look so damn good. Dude puts on a suit and just has so much charm and intensity that it makes anyone submit. Clooney is a bad man and fun to watch. How about that last scene? When dude said he was Shiva, the God of Death, you had to applaud.
The supporting cast is AMAZING. First, Tom Wilkinson as Arthur Edens needs to be applauded. Dude goes HARD in his role as he runs around in his underwear and goes off in his deposition. Man brought fire and brimstone when he spoke, and it was exciting to watch dude lose his mind after learning the truth of what happened. We all have moments of clarity, and dude had his hard. Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder was equally fun to watch. She was the general counsel, and she seemed to be afraid of her job as she repeatedly spoke in front of the mirror. Actually, that is not being afraid; that is being prepared. Now she was scared towards the end when she tried to talk her way out of things. Yet, Swinton was excellent.
Michael Clayton is a great film that is thrilling but also a mystery that will keep you interested. The acting by Clooney, Wilkinson, and Swinton is top-notch in this film and is the strongest point of the whole movie. If you need a fixer, call on Michael Clayton and see what he can do for you before your trial.
