Michael Clayton (2007)
Jul 27, 2016 15:32:57 GMT -5
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Jul 27, 2016 15:32:57 GMT -5
Michael Clayton
Dir. Tony Gilroy
Premiered October 5, 2007
Originally when I came up with this project, I had intended to focus on the true classics of 2007, the movies that made it the best year ever. But it seemed too limiting. As someone interested in history, I felt that a broader overview of the year’s cinematic output would highlight elements of that time period to light that might otherwise be forgotten.
Like the deplorable The Invasion, Tony Gilroy’s directorial debut and passion project Michael Clayton– a title I will never stop confusing with Michael Collins– captures a certain period-specific type of fear. Two in fact: one legitimate and widely understood, one that has aged terribly.
The titular Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a mysterious character; a former prosecutor who long ago left his up-and-coming position to work as a fixer (or “janitor” in the lingo of the film) for a massive corporate law firm. Typically, he covers the company’s ass, but things begin to spiral out of control when he’s sent to Wisconsin to do damage control after his colleague Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) has a manic-depressive breakdown during a deposition.
It turns out Arthur’s freakout may not just be mental– the company he’s representing, a Monsanto stand-in called United Northfield, is being sued for manufacturing a weed killer that’s believed to be a prolific carcinogen. Arthur has found further evidence that the product is not only cancerous to the farmers using it, but to the consumers of the food they produce. He can’t take it anymore, leaves the case, and U-North’s general counsel (Tilda Swinton) will stop at nothing to keep this new evidence from coming to light.
George Clooney does a great job, of course. Tom Wilkinson does too, and so do most of the actors. But something isn’t right. Watching Michael Clayton, I was reminded most strongly of Jonathan Demme’s 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate; wherein the spectre of Communism is replaced with paranoia of a corporate enemy within. This is a bigger problem than one might think.
Let’s face it: most of Hollywood is pretty liberal, especially the kind of people who produce prestige movies like this. In a post-Bush, post-Great Recession, post-The Informant! world, the mutual understanding that giant corporations are greedy, amoral, and endanger our health is taken for granted. I’m not saying it wasn’t understood in the 2000s, but in the heady days of Karl Rove’s so-called “permanent majority,” it may have seemed to some that a more existential threat was needed in order to convey that to the general public.
As a consequence, we got didactic conspiracies of corporate hit men, hunting down the brave souls who can expose the truth and set everyone free. In the real world, such extreme measures aren’t necessary; and to its credit, Michael Clayton ends the film by mocking U-North’s overdoing of the situation; but there’s a reason the film, though nominated for all manner of awards, is probably most-remembered from this spoilerrific quote from 30 Rock:
Signs This Was Made in 2007
Product placement for Blackberry. Also, something weird about this: Clayton is stated to have been born in 1959, but he himself says he’s 45. Was this movie, like fellow prestige film In the Valley of Elah, randomly and pointlessly set in 2004?
Additional Notes
It eventually pays off, but the first thirty minutes of this film, before the plot really kicks in, feels like an overextended Indiana Jones-style character-establishing prologue.
Also in Theaters
Michael Clayton premiered October 5, 2007. The Same weekend saw the release of the following films:
Dir. Tony Gilroy
Premiered October 5, 2007
Originally when I came up with this project, I had intended to focus on the true classics of 2007, the movies that made it the best year ever. But it seemed too limiting. As someone interested in history, I felt that a broader overview of the year’s cinematic output would highlight elements of that time period to light that might otherwise be forgotten.
Like the deplorable The Invasion, Tony Gilroy’s directorial debut and passion project Michael Clayton– a title I will never stop confusing with Michael Collins– captures a certain period-specific type of fear. Two in fact: one legitimate and widely understood, one that has aged terribly.
The titular Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a mysterious character; a former prosecutor who long ago left his up-and-coming position to work as a fixer (or “janitor” in the lingo of the film) for a massive corporate law firm. Typically, he covers the company’s ass, but things begin to spiral out of control when he’s sent to Wisconsin to do damage control after his colleague Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) has a manic-depressive breakdown during a deposition.
It turns out Arthur’s freakout may not just be mental– the company he’s representing, a Monsanto stand-in called United Northfield, is being sued for manufacturing a weed killer that’s believed to be a prolific carcinogen. Arthur has found further evidence that the product is not only cancerous to the farmers using it, but to the consumers of the food they produce. He can’t take it anymore, leaves the case, and U-North’s general counsel (Tilda Swinton) will stop at nothing to keep this new evidence from coming to light.
George Clooney does a great job, of course. Tom Wilkinson does too, and so do most of the actors. But something isn’t right. Watching Michael Clayton, I was reminded most strongly of Jonathan Demme’s 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate; wherein the spectre of Communism is replaced with paranoia of a corporate enemy within. This is a bigger problem than one might think.
Let’s face it: most of Hollywood is pretty liberal, especially the kind of people who produce prestige movies like this. In a post-Bush, post-Great Recession, post-The Informant! world, the mutual understanding that giant corporations are greedy, amoral, and endanger our health is taken for granted. I’m not saying it wasn’t understood in the 2000s, but in the heady days of Karl Rove’s so-called “permanent majority,” it may have seemed to some that a more existential threat was needed in order to convey that to the general public.
As a consequence, we got didactic conspiracies of corporate hit men, hunting down the brave souls who can expose the truth and set everyone free. In the real world, such extreme measures aren’t necessary; and to its credit, Michael Clayton ends the film by mocking U-North’s overdoing of the situation; but there’s a reason the film, though nominated for all manner of awards, is probably most-remembered from this spoilerrific quote from 30 Rock:
Floyd: I am the Michael Clayton of Cleveland!
Liz: Well I hope your car blows up!
Liz: Well I hope your car blows up!
Product placement for Blackberry. Also, something weird about this: Clayton is stated to have been born in 1959, but he himself says he’s 45. Was this movie, like fellow prestige film In the Valley of Elah, randomly and pointlessly set in 2004?
Additional Notes
It eventually pays off, but the first thirty minutes of this film, before the plot really kicks in, feels like an overextended Indiana Jones-style character-establishing prologue.
Also in Theaters
Michael Clayton premiered October 5, 2007. The Same weekend saw the release of the following films:
- Feel the Noise, a reggaeton-themed vehicle for R&B singer Omarion.
- The Heartbreak Kid, a remake of a class-conscious 1960s comedy that replaces class with directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly’s neverending New England inferiority complex.
- The Seeker, an obscure, critically reviled, commercially unsuccessful fantasy adaptation which I think I remember hearing about, but honestly these fantasy titles all kinda sound the same.
Next Time: Why Did I Get Married?
"The Movie event of the year?" Oh, fuck off.
