Michael Clayton

Seven Oscar nominations and one win. I figure that if I didn't watch this movie there had to be something seriously wrong with me. Turns out I was wrong. Yes, George Clooney plays the lead, and it's a worthwhile watch but it's not worthy of an Oscar. I have doubts about the one win, but I guess that's just an opinion!

In the movie, Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house 'fixer.' He works for a big New York law firm which specializes in everything under the sun. What Michael Clayton does is specialize in cleaning up and sorting out the dirty work. If you have an alcoholic wife, he's the guy you call. He's known as the miracle worker. Clayton is good at his job. But discontented. Divorce, gambling addiction, failed business venture, loads of debt. No easy way out, even if he wanted one.

On the other side of the ball park is U North, a large agrichemical company (think Constant Gardener). Their in-house chief counsel is Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton). Karen wants to see off a multi-million dollar class action suit, which is up for a class settlement, finally! Clayton's firm is employed to wind it all up nicely for her. But Clayton's colleague, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has an apparent mental breakdown. He strips off during a deposition. Then tries to sabotage the entire case. Clayton goes in to 'fix' things, yet he is gradually forced to admit how good the firm has maybe become at making wrong seem right.

Much in the tradition of Erin Brockovitch or even Syriana, this is a film that tries to attack the respected authorities while still working within the format of mainstream cinema. (More cynically, it uses high production values and scenes that last no longer than the attention span of passive audiences - supposedly the length of a TV commercial break.)

During one scene, high powered corporate lawyer Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) practices answers for a coming interview. It's nicely done and may have been the clincher for the Oscar list. The movie is all about ideals versus the reality of paying a mortgage. By putting such an impasse at the heart of the movie, Michael Clayton becomes more than an edge-of-your-seat legal drama: it is a powerful psychological study that asks how far we will go to avoid facing unpalatable truths.

Directed by the man who wrote the Bourne trilogy, Michael Clayton racks up an intelligent suspense movie out of a plot nominally too dry for mass-market appeal. Two hours of lawyer-talk could be enough to bore anyone. But the screenplay cleverly contrasts high-intensity scenes and well-developed characters. Arthur's psychotic ranting. Clooney's impenetrable cool. Swinton's prepared polish.

These are displayed in the boardroom. Cinematography by Oscar-nominated Robert Elswit is crucial. Right from the start, we are torn by fascinating contrasts. A long panning shot through expensive, empty offices is coupled with a sound-over of manic rambling. Suddenly the camera wanders into a busy room. An annoying reporter over the phone. And the overheard phrase, "The time is now," brings everything together in the present. Shortly afterwards, a horrific scene in which Clayton is almost killed. Then flashback four days to unravel a 'smoking gun' that can overturn the lawsuit on which lives, careers and whole firms rely.

Clayton's ability to ask himself difficult questions is matched by Crowder's knack for self-deception. It is a frightening depiction of the legal mastery of words when she gives instructions for the most abominable acts with total deniability.

Although the overly obvious Blackberry product-placement annoyed me slightly (but I guess our local movies have done more damage than this!), I found Michael Clayton a satisfying film without any of the usual over-simplified characters. Threads are pulled together a bit too conveniently towards the end, but it succeeds in never seeming contrived. If you have always put off thinking a little too deeply about where your own life is heading, it might even give you a necessary nudge. But as all-round entertainment to a thinking audience, Michael Clayton is ok.

He said/She said: There's no play here. There's no angle. There's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor. The math on this is simple. The smaller the mess the easier it is for me to clean up.

Watch it if you liked: The Firm
Movie Hall of Fame: No

It's a story that most of us know and remember, we bear in mind what we felt watching it on the news and we followed the aftermath of the incident. Daniel Pearl's kidnapping spotlighted the dangers of responsible journalism all the while causing intense sorrow to those who cared.

A Mighty Heart, tells the story of Daniel Pearl's abduction and assassination, from Mariane Pearl's point of view (it was nevertheless based on her memoir of the same title).

The movie begins with the Pearl's being one happy couple, soon followed by Daniel's departure to interview Sheikh Gilani. The real story begins now – Daniel does not return home at the designated time, which brings about anxiety to the optimistic Marian. Days go by, as the investigation continues and the motives unravel, leading to the depressive revelation about his death to Marian, and her team. Frankly the story on its own consists of extreme anguish, and turning all this emotion onto a cinematic dimension is always tough work, especially when the incident depicted became one of the most prominent stories of 2002. However director Micheal Winterbottom's delivery of this component is poor as the film fails to enthrall audiences in that same spirit of movies such as World Trade Centre or The Queen.

Truthfully, this is Jolie's (who plays the protagonist) most serious and career defining work to date. She may have won the Oscar for 1997's Girl Interrupted, but it's in A Mighty Heart, that she exhibits her true acting flair. Yet, there is much left to be desired with her performance, as she arguably looks worried, for 75% of the movie making is obviously difficult to gain enough credit for that second Oscar.

Dan Futterman plays Daniel Pearl to sheer perfection – though his onscreen presence is minimal, Futterman seems to have studied the character to an extent that Daniel seems to be embodied in him. It is unfortunate that we do not get to see more of Futterman as the movie proceeds. However the chemistry that Jolie and Futterman posses is impeccable and shockingly real – they look implausibly similar to the characters they portray. A perfect movie for drama lovers.