Michael Clayton DVD

This movie went under the radar, I was glad I found it because it was an enjoyable watch. George Clooney was not riding on his good looks, he delivered a gritty and believable performance that had the viewer heavily invested in the story and the outcome for various characters. Excellent.

This is Tony Gilroy's first film as a director; Gilroy is better known as the writer of the screenplays to the Bourne series. This is a cold and restrained thriller, an excellent and yet unusual take on the genre because the crucial moment that ratchets up the tension does not occur until the second half. In the meantime we see Clooney in action as a fixer (aka `janitor') for a top New York legal firm. `Sight & Sound' magazine in a generally positive review thought the story `overplotted'. But to me, the film is very cleverly constructed, the viewer wondering what's going on until it all slowly comes together, each piece of the jigsaw nicely sliding into place with perfection. To that extent it's a film worth watching more than once. Of the top stars, Clooney and Pollack make their roles look supremely effortless, whilst Swinton is convincing as the career woman compelled to make uncomfortable choices. I'm a big fan of Tom Wilkinson, but here - despite doing a brilliant job - his American accent remains unconvincing. In his director's commentary, Tony Gilroy explains how he constructed the film around a specific framing style with lots of negative space, thus concentrating the eye into the corner of the screen where the action - or inaction - is taking place. Clooney's face is often hidden in the dark shadows. Colours are also subdued: Gilroy refers to "cool colours", producing "a movie that's beautiful but not pretty." There are also three deleted scenes lasting six minutes in total.

I saw this as a film not so much about the story but more about characters; George Clooney's in the main, obviously. The plot regarding the UNorth case is just a scene-setter and contrary to what some other reviewers have said I didn't find it unduly complicated or slow. Mr Clayton is a man who is apparently successful - defined by his corporate, private jet, world - but is hugely unfulfilled; Tom Wilkinson's character (Arthur Edens) similarly so. Each in their own way is miserable, we see much of Clayton's non-work life where even then he is required to be welded to his `phone, but not so much of Edens'. The apartment where Edens `lives' (when not at the office or on the road) is not exactly luxurious. So each of them `want out', Edens from his job and Clayton - it seems - from `everything'. Casting aside the mental health aspects, how many people, I wonder, would like to have rebelled against interminable meetings as did Edens, to go out in one grand futile gesture perhaps. The scene with Clayton and the three horses is exquisite, well acted and played with the correct level of pathos. Other early scenes build the characters on which the film depends and, yes, there are no car chases nor exploding helicopters so I can see why some of the other reviewers would find it boring. We see how Karen Crowder responds to pressure, so someone who again seems to live the corporate high life, in this case in charge of a large department and being a `key client', is reduced to being just a person on their own who makes interesting decisions from a strange set of values. Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack) begins the film as powerful and in complete command of his universe but we see by the end that corporate machinations within his firm render him to be just someone else having his strings pulled so he is not the master of his own destiny, albeit well remunerated. This is a film that you have to watch rather than allow to wash over you; it has a great central performance around which all of the other characters revolve.

Clever film so well acted

"Michael Clayton" is an odd film. The beginning is so confusing and weird that we very nearly turned it off to watch a different DVD altogether. However, we persisted and found that all the strands from the beginning do start coming together about half way through, clearing up the confusion. However, I found that as the strands started coming together the remainder of the film became slightly too predictable. I do like strands coming together so that you can attempt to predict the ending, rather than having an ending that there would have been no way of predicting from what happened earlier. However, "Michael Clayton" gets the balance slightly wrong by becoming too predictable. All in all, it's an ok film, it's not great, but it's not bad either. The acting was good, the lighting and atmosphere good (verging on art-house in places), but it just didn't excite.

Supeb

`Michael Clayton' is a masterly portrayal of corporate greed and manipulations brought to justice by one man. George Clooney play Michael Clayton who is a big time law firm fixer who goes to the aid of one of the firms lawyers who has a breakdown whilst working on a corporate litigation case. This film follows what lead to the breakdown and what happens to all involved and leads to a conclusion that will leave a smile on your face as you see the corporate machinations get their comeuppance. This is probably the best role I've seen Clooney in and he really drives this film the whole way, but saying that the supporting cast is outstanding with amazing performances from Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson. This is a slow starting film but it has a tense conclusion and makes for a great political thriller and one well worth checking out. Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I loved this movie. George Clooney is a fine actor. He really makes you see his character in full technicolour. The direction is tight and well measured. And Tilda Swinton? Sends shivvers down your spine. Very thoughtful, very well written exploration of an issue that is much more real than we imagine: the lengths big corporations will go to protect their profitability. In a world of increasingly violent action films, this is a thriller that seduces with its sheer cleverness. Vastly under-rated when it was released, despite ample praise from the critics, a truly worthwhile film.

Ottimo Legal thriller con una trama forse un po' lenta, ma comunque carica di suspense. Michael è avvocato di uno studio legale che tratta gli interessi di grandi multinazionali. Un collega e amico accusa un loro cliente di provocare seri danni alla salute della popolazione. All'inizio viene preso per matto, ma poi quando viene assassinato e l'assassinio viene camuffato da suicidio, Clayton va a fondo della questione. Ottima la regia e ottimi gli attori. Clooney al top. BD ottimo sotto ogni aspetto. Per gli amanti del genere. Ottimo il servizio Amazon.

Wenn Michael Clayton (G.Clooney) das erste Mal im Film ins Blickfeld rückt, spielt er Poker. Dies ist kein Zufall, denn man kann es symbolisch sehen, als Anwalt den er spielt, der alles auf eine Karte setzt... Clooney spielt einen desillusionierten Anwalt, der von seiner Kanzlei als Mann für`s Grobe eingesetzt wird. Er betreut Fälle bei denen sich andere nicht die Finger schmutzig machen. Nun muss er sich um seinen Freund und Arbeitskollegen Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) kümmern, der Prozessbevollmächtigter der Kanzlei ist und bei einer Anhörung zur Sammelklage gegen einen großen Pharmakonzern durchgedreht ist, da er glaubt Beweise für die Schuld des Konzerns, den er vertreten soll, gefunden zu haben. Das interessieiert die eiskalte Konzernanwältin (klasse gespielt von Tilda Swinton, die zurecht den Oscar erhielt) nicht, im Gegenteil. Sie hat kein Interesse an Untersuchungen und als A. Edens versucht den Skandal publik zu machen greift sie zu drastischen Mitteln, welche zuerst Edens und bald daraufhin auch Clayton zu spüren bekommen... Fazit: Packender Wirtschafts- und Justizthriller mit einem Hauch Gesellschaftskritik (Käuflichkeit von Menschen), super Athmosphäre und exzellenten Darstellerleistungen. ABSOLUTE KAUFEMPFEHLUNG!!! Übrigens: FINGER WEG VON DER BLU RAY DISC! Schlechter Bildtransfer!

Awesome 😎 film 🎞️ !

Wees je ervan bewust dat deze bluray disc alleen Duitse ondertiteling heeft. Het heeft wel de originele taal (Engels) naast de Duitse nasynchronisering maar geen Engelse ondertiteling. Dat is nogal ongebruikelijk.

For some people may be kind of slow, but is impecable and important