The James Logan Courier

By Charles Yi, Courier Staff Writer

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a lawyer who "fixes" malpractice legal cases of powerful, corporate conglomerates. Although financially successful, Clayton is a troubled single parent struggling with gambling problems; he is also beginning to doubt his career and where it will take him in the future.

One day, colleague Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) drags Clayton into an important case where the defendant is steadily gaining advantage in a malpractice case. Clayton unravels the truth behind the case and discovers clear evidence of illegal protocol by the corporation, thus becoming an assassination target of the corporation.


After narrowly escaping a car bomb, Clayton confronts the corporate director, Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), to put an end to the madness.

"Michael Clayton" yields extremely strong performances from its cast and was successful in pulling off a solid, classic conspiracy story with a modern twist. This film also serves as a antagonistic paradigm of business, portraying it as faceless corporations grinding ordinary people through their profit-making machinery.

"Michael Clayton" is in limbo between Clooney's previous films, not quite the serious and provocative showcase of "Syria" and definitely not the money-making endeavor of the "Ocean's" series; it was a classy, but difficult-to-market movie with few thrills.