Lawyer Watch: Michael Clayton (2007)

Watched:  04/21/2026

Format:  Criterion

Viewing:  First

Director:  Tony Gilroy

Well, MBell will be happy not just that I finally watched this movie, but that I agree:  great movie.

It stars George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and muh gurl Tilda Swinton.*  And that's good, because this is a movie that requires that level of performance so it doesn't just melt into cheap melodrama.

Michael Clayton (2007) is the kind of thriller-for-adults I really need to engage in more.  It borders on neo-noir, but doesn't descend enough into the tropes for that, and the movie's focus is elsewhere, even if the lead - the eponymous Michael Clayton (Clooney) sure feels like a noir lead.  

This is a legal thriller, which is not something I dislike, but not something I seek out.  And part of the wave of socially-minded, evils-of-corporations media that was once a big staple of movies.  I'm thinking everything from Erin Brockovich to Thank You For Smoking.  

Do they make those anymore?

The movie starts with one of those "grab 'em by the lapels so they *have* to pay attention" bits - that is not a complaint, that's good writing.  And it keeps providing those moments - how did we get to this?  Where are we going with this?

The crux of the film is that a lead attorney (Tom Wilkinson) from a law firm defending a Monsanto-like corporation goes off his meds and, whilst having a manic episode, decides to support the plaintiffs after performing nude in the parking lot.  Michael Clayton is a friend of the attorney and the fixer for the same firm, and he has to figure out what's going on and get Wilkinson back on the ball.  While he may be close to hallucinating, Wilkinson remains one of the sharpest attorneys out there and is outmaneuvering everyone, maybe well aware of his state but seeing it as a good.  (It is also possible he is smitten a bit by the plaintiff, a naive young woman from Wisconsin played by Merritt Wever).

Meanwhile, Michael Clayton is wrapping up a failed enterprise - he's closing down a bar he opened with his brother and selling it for pieces to try to pay back the loan, which appears to be from some shady characters.  And he does not have the scratch on-hand to cover his expenses.

Ie:  he has a lot going on.

While there's plenty of plot detail, and all of it key to making sure the story works and the stakes are right - this is one of those movies that you can just sit back and watch performances.  George Clooney is dialed in, which is always a pleasure.  As the CEO who knows all of this is going very, very badly and why, Swinton manages to walk a razor-thin line and winds up oddly sympathetic for someone who you really know is doing harm.  To me, that's @#$%ing amazing from a scripting and performance stand point.  This could have been Snidely Whiplash.  And is it worth having to say Tom Wilkinson kills it?  because you know he does.  Sydney Pollack shows up once again as a canny, sensible guy who knows the real score.

The movie is beautifully shot - occurring in what seems like winter in New York - all low-hanging clouds and dampness and does some heavy lifting to convey meaning and intention in a film where people talk, sure, but to get the framing and subtext conveyed.  

SPOILERS

In 2026, some of this feels like a lefty fantasy.  That cops would get involved with a scandal with a multinational corporation?  That anyone would actually care about a company knowingly polluting a population?  The movies had moral outrage when the lesson of the 21st Century has been: ha, we actually don't care about any of this.  There is no force of collective will that stops people from making dough for shareholders.

And, maybe part of why the movie works is it's not clear Clayton cares specifically about that - but his pal did, and he cares about what happened to his friend.  

Anyway - glad I got to it before it left Criterion at the end of the month.

*y'all have no idea what I'd pay to see a Swinton/ Cate Blanchett buddy-cop movie