Despite being one of the most beloved and bankable actors in Hollywood, the films George Clooney has appeared in over the last few years generally have had two things in common: limited box office success, and Steven Soderbergh. With the exception of Ocean’s Thirteen, the average domestic gross of the three films he has been in since 2005 is about $27 million. Good Night, and Good Luck, his directorial effort, received lavish praise; Syriana gave him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar; and I am the only one who loved The Good German, let alone one of the few who saw it. As for the other commonality, the last film without Steven Soderbergh’s name on it was the 2003 Coen Brothers’ debacle, Intolerable Cruelty. It appears now, that the most recent film headlined by Clooney, Michael Clayton, will be no exception to the rule.
Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, who penned The Cutting Edge and Bait (or the Bourne movies, if you prefer), Clayton is being hailed as a gripping legal thriller with some great performances and sharp dialogue. Though, going in, I had heard that the film would require my full attention in order to have the experience that many audiences were enjoying, at the end of the film, after a few minutes of processing, I realized that the film did not deserve the attention it demanded, especially since I learned that I was not even capable of keeping up with it.
The go-to scapegoat for all things confusing with a movie is the screenplay, and, while I certainly think it is at fault in this case, there is more to the story. In an effort to prove my positive approach to film criticism, I shall offer a potential solution to fix this movie, much as Clooney’s titular character plays legal janitor in the film. If Tony Gilroy had been willing to allow someone else to take the directorial reins, I am convinced that the outcome would be preferable to the current product. With a script as convoluted, I mean complex, as his, the restraint of another set of eyes in control could have tidied it up quite a bit.
As is, Clayton the film is much like Clayton the character – intriguing, elusive, but unidentifiable and ambiguous. Clooney is at his best, but Tom Wilkinson turns in the worst, most outrageous performance of his career as the attorney who sabotages the case of U/North, the corporation filing a class action suit led by Clayton’s firm. Now it may be said, in fact, that this movie actually has too much going for it. Michael Clayton could potentially be one of the most exciting and unique characters put on film in the last year, but we never get beyond the surface of the man. The script has the swift dialogue of Gilroy’s other efforts (except The Cutting Edge), and the acting, as I’ve said, is mostly exceptional.
Since all these potentially promising elements, in the end, add up to nothing more than a forgettable afternoon at the movies, it is with great surprise that I cannot recommend a film with Steven Soderbergh’s name on it. C+
