Michael Clayton

Michael Clayton is an exceptionally film in many ways. First, there is George Clooney and he is just so right. He’s this suited fixer of a lawyer (they call him the janitor, who cleans up other’s legal mess) who lives in throes of personal disarray. Yet there’s something so kind and generous in those vagabond eyes. He’s a really beautiful man. There’s a strong eternal warmth and genuine-ness in his smile.

Then there is the cold..the film is shot in a cold city, in cold weather and has some cold hearted characters. The film starts with a car blowing up on a lonely highway and is followed by shots of empty offices, dark streets, and lonely buildings. The fire that envelopes the car, does not bring warmth. The film involves you from the word go. The clues and the plot start piecing together.The futility of a number of factors…relationships, commitment, trust and lack of it, betrayal, greed is brought home poignantly and climaxes with the ultimate triumph.

Sydney Pollack as Marty Bach is exceptional as the lawyer with years of litigation history on the UNorth account behind him. The heart wringing struggle for moral release is genuine.

The climax is so hushed, simple and sad. It’s a strongly and intentionally played subtlety. That scene when George Clooney says his final words to the lady and walks away – that scene is just painted in cadence. And because a moment of triumph is treated with quietude instead of clamour, you still find yourself glued to your seat in the end, when Clooney is driving around New York in a cab.