Michael Clayton *
Tony Gilroy, 2007
US
@ Clearview Chelsea

The car-bomb scene was far and away the highlight. I thought the confrontation at the end was a little overdone, and the only reason the camera ever follows someone away from a group alone to some corner of a space is for them to be surprised, so the shock wasn't really all that shocking.

The directing seemed workmanlike for the most part and I thought, like the Variety reviewer, that there were a lot of not terribly intriguing narrative threads that led nowhere. Particularly the son and his fantasy novel; his scenes could have been cut, tightening the story, with absolutely no deleterious effect on the rest.

If someone could point out to me which character was not boring, I'd appreciate it. I'd say George Clooney's "fixer" hovers between repressed and tired for most of the time. If you're real into it, you probably read outrage, frustration, and regret into the performance, but I'm not sure the movie around him is strong enough to allow for such a flat performance.

See also: IMDb | Metacritic | Variety review