A few weeks back in a Radio Times interview George Clooney bemoaned the loss of Hollywood’s ‘golden age’. He stated that between 1964 and 1976 “you could find ten films a year that were masterpieces”. Whilst it is hard to disagree with that summation of the period it is also difficult to agree with the implied assertion that cinema ain’t what it used to be… and Michael Clayton is a case in point.
Michael Clayton (Clooney) is a ‘fixer’ for a high ranking law firm who is called in when one of their top employees suffers a nervous breakdown during a deposition hearing. Of course things are not what they seem but the real joy of the film is that. despite the compelling mystery, director / screenwriter Tony Gilroy (writer of the Bourne films) is more interested in the characters than the plot. Just as The Conversation used a jacket of surveillance and paranoia to get to the heart of it’s protagonist, Michael Clayton exposes the lives of those working within corporate machines.
The tragedy of Michael Clayton is that in another year it would have stood an even chance of taking home a handful of Oscars. This year, further disproving Clooney’s feelings about modern cinema, it is up against some stiff competition, however the very fact that it is being considered alongside the likes of Juno, No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood really is a testament to the high quality of this film.
8/10
