'Michael Clayton' reels you in
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, February 17, 2008
You have one week to get your Oscar viewing done.
Good thing "Michael Clayton" and "In the Valley of Elah" are out on video this week.
If you missed them, they're stories well told with classic performances.
Tommy Lee Jones shines in "Elah," a stirring film about the parents of a dead soldier.
And George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton won Oscar nods for their work in "Michael Clayton," one of the best dramas of the year.
Like classic films from the '60s and '70s, "Clayton" pulls you in and won't let go. Initially obtuse, it unfolds like a great novel and ends with a remarkable flourish. The final confrontation, in fact, is so juicy, so perfect its structure should be taught in screenwriting classes.
Clooney gets the final words and he doesn't waste one.
He's a "janitor" -- or clean-up guy -- for a prestigious law firm. One of its partners has had a meltdown and its effects threaten the firm's relationship with U North, its seemingly eco-friendly uber-client. As Clooney's Michael Clayton looks into the case, he discovers the crazy guy (Wilkinson) might not be so crazy after all.
Assigned a case that could cost U-North billions, he has information that damns the company and could bring down several people -- including Karen Crowder (Swinton), its chief counsel. She's one of those pursed, controlling women who think a slight smile can defuse anything. Practicing answers to potential press questions, she's the epitome of big business gone awry. Because she's such an unlikable person her downfall isn't just anticipated, it's inevitable. She huddles with company honchos repeatedly, convinced she's in the driver's seat.
But Clayton is the man behind the wheel, gunning the engine at all the right points. Writer/director Tony Gilroy doesn't make him a slick operator, able to maneuver anyone. He's a man with a past who has to figure out how he can pay off debts and still retain his dignity. He's the classic good guy caught in a bad guy's world.
Gilroy surrounds him with plenty of detractors -- an ex-wife, a great kid, a flawed brother -- and lets him maneuver in one world and out another.
Clooney and Wilkinson have great "Network"-like moments (they're William Holden and Peter Finch); Swinton is the 2007 counterpart to 1976's Faye Dunaway.
"Michael Clayton," in fact, is like a good Sidney Lumet/Paddy Chayefsky drama.
It's smart, it's fast and, best of all, it's perfect for these troubling times. See it and you might just say, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."
Also: 'Valley of Elah'
Writer/director Paul Haggis never wastes a scene. If he plants a seed, it'll bear fruit before the film ends.
With "In the Valley of Elah," he raises a bumper crop of clues, all designed to sprout into major questions about war. It's a thought-provoking exercise that's blessed with an Oscar-worthy performance by Tommy Lee Jones.
Jones plays a retired military officer who wants to know the truth behind his son's disappearance. The young man had been in Iraq for 18 months and when he returned home he vanished. Quickly, it's learned, he was murdered, dismembered and left along the side of a road.
While officials try to make it seem like he was the target of drug lords, Jones isn't convinced. He does his own investigation and urges a police detective (Charlize Theron) to help him out.
He feeds her clues; she gives him concrete answers. Their teamwork is remarkable but it doesn't turn up the immediate answers he or his wife (Susan Sarandon in one of those Patricia Neal performances) seeks. Thanks to a cellphone he manages to pull out of his son's room, he gets clues about his time in Iraq. He sees faces of his friends, too, and tries to understand why someone would kill so violently.
Because of his work with Clint Eastwood (writing such films as "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima"), Haggis has a sense of military life. He also has an opinion about war and isn't afraid to share it. "Valley," as a result, doesn't flinch. It does, however, show how complex the subject can be.
Jones interviews plenty of military personnel, letting silence prompt the necessary answers. He's like a missing face on Mount Rushmore, stonily staring into their eyes. Theron is effective, too, letting her character's story color the one Haggis is telling.
While Sarandon doesn't add much to the drama, a corps of veteran actors do. Josh Brolin, Barry Corbin, Frances Fisher and Jason Patrick march in and out of scenes, helping the film find its resolution.
When Jones gets the answers he's seeking, they're heartfelt on a much broader scale. Haggis manages to comment on racism, authority, perception and reality with one amazing gesture.
"In the Valley of Elah" (which refers to valley where David met Goliath) isn't a film about individual loss. It's a story of shared loss -- one no one should take lightly.
Also:
TV: "Coach," season three; "COPS: 20th Anniversary Edition"; "Handy Manny: Fixing it Right"; "Little Einsteins: Race for Space"; "Walker, Texas Ranger," season four
Film: "After Sex"; "The American Gangster"; "Black Water"; "Catacombs"; "Chaos"; "The Final Inquiry"; "Gabriel"; "List, Caution"; "The Perfect Witness"; "Poor Boy's Game"; "Redacted"; "Rendition"; "Spiral"
Good thing "Michael Clayton" and "In the Valley of Elah" are out on video this week.
If you missed them, they're stories well told with classic performances.
Tommy Lee Jones shines in "Elah," a stirring film about the parents of a dead soldier.
And George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton won Oscar nods for their work in "Michael Clayton," one of the best dramas of the year.
Like classic films from the '60s and '70s, "Clayton" pulls you in and won't let go. Initially obtuse, it unfolds like a great novel and ends with a remarkable flourish. The final confrontation, in fact, is so juicy, so perfect its structure should be taught in screenwriting classes.
Clooney gets the final words and he doesn't waste one.
He's a "janitor" -- or clean-up guy -- for a prestigious law firm. One of its partners has had a meltdown and its effects threaten the firm's relationship with U North, its seemingly eco-friendly uber-client. As Clooney's Michael Clayton looks into the case, he discovers the crazy guy (Wilkinson) might not be so crazy after all.
Assigned a case that could cost U-North billions, he has information that damns the company and could bring down several people -- including Karen Crowder (Swinton), its chief counsel. She's one of those pursed, controlling women who think a slight smile can defuse anything. Practicing answers to potential press questions, she's the epitome of big business gone awry. Because she's such an unlikable person her downfall isn't just anticipated, it's inevitable. She huddles with company honchos repeatedly, convinced she's in the driver's seat.
But Clayton is the man behind the wheel, gunning the engine at all the right points. Writer/director Tony Gilroy doesn't make him a slick operator, able to maneuver anyone. He's a man with a past who has to figure out how he can pay off debts and still retain his dignity. He's the classic good guy caught in a bad guy's world.
Gilroy surrounds him with plenty of detractors -- an ex-wife, a great kid, a flawed brother -- and lets him maneuver in one world and out another.
Clooney and Wilkinson have great "Network"-like moments (they're William Holden and Peter Finch); Swinton is the 2007 counterpart to 1976's Faye Dunaway.
"Michael Clayton," in fact, is like a good Sidney Lumet/Paddy Chayefsky drama.
It's smart, it's fast and, best of all, it's perfect for these troubling times. See it and you might just say, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."
Also: 'Valley of Elah'
Writer/director Paul Haggis never wastes a scene. If he plants a seed, it'll bear fruit before the film ends.
With "In the Valley of Elah," he raises a bumper crop of clues, all designed to sprout into major questions about war. It's a thought-provoking exercise that's blessed with an Oscar-worthy performance by Tommy Lee Jones.
Jones plays a retired military officer who wants to know the truth behind his son's disappearance. The young man had been in Iraq for 18 months and when he returned home he vanished. Quickly, it's learned, he was murdered, dismembered and left along the side of a road.
While officials try to make it seem like he was the target of drug lords, Jones isn't convinced. He does his own investigation and urges a police detective (Charlize Theron) to help him out.
He feeds her clues; she gives him concrete answers. Their teamwork is remarkable but it doesn't turn up the immediate answers he or his wife (Susan Sarandon in one of those Patricia Neal performances) seeks. Thanks to a cellphone he manages to pull out of his son's room, he gets clues about his time in Iraq. He sees faces of his friends, too, and tries to understand why someone would kill so violently.
Because of his work with Clint Eastwood (writing such films as "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima"), Haggis has a sense of military life. He also has an opinion about war and isn't afraid to share it. "Valley," as a result, doesn't flinch. It does, however, show how complex the subject can be.
Jones interviews plenty of military personnel, letting silence prompt the necessary answers. He's like a missing face on Mount Rushmore, stonily staring into their eyes. Theron is effective, too, letting her character's story color the one Haggis is telling.
While Sarandon doesn't add much to the drama, a corps of veteran actors do. Josh Brolin, Barry Corbin, Frances Fisher and Jason Patrick march in and out of scenes, helping the film find its resolution.
When Jones gets the answers he's seeking, they're heartfelt on a much broader scale. Haggis manages to comment on racism, authority, perception and reality with one amazing gesture.
"In the Valley of Elah" (which refers to valley where David met Goliath) isn't a film about individual loss. It's a story of shared loss -- one no one should take lightly.
Also:
TV: "Coach," season three; "COPS: 20th Anniversary Edition"; "Handy Manny: Fixing it Right"; "Little Einsteins: Race for Space"; "Walker, Texas Ranger," season four
Film: "After Sex"; "The American Gangster"; "Black Water"; "Catacombs"; "Chaos"; "The Final Inquiry"; "Gabriel"; "List, Caution"; "The Perfect Witness"; "Poor Boy's Game"; "Redacted"; "Rendition"; "Spiral"
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