..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

Clooney -
Straddling The Line 

It's a rare commodity these days to find an actor that can appeal to all quadrants, someone who the women love but the men don't feel threatened by.  It's rarer still when that actor actually has an interest in making films that are better than the average popcorn movie, something that doesn't insult an audience's intelligence in its effort to entertain.  For this generation in cinema, George Clooney is that actor and with his new film Michael Clayton, he has found the role that suits his sensibilities as a filmmaker and his abilities as an actor.

I remember watching Clooney on his first season of ER and thinking that he was plenty charismatic, but that television was probably the best place for him.  After From Dusk Til Dawn, One Fine Day, and The Peacemaker, I was convinced that I was right.  It wasn't so much that he was "bad" in those films, it was that he had a few cadences that he brought with him from television.  He had that familiar chin to chest move, where he would grin upwards at his costar and, presumably, melt their hearts as well as the hearts of women all over the world.  It was a reflexive way of telling the audience that he was introverted, but like a turtle he wanted to jut his head out a tiny bit, peek those handsome eyes upwards just a little bit to make you feel like there was something deeper in there.  So, he was charming yet still very much a television actor, trying to save some tricks for later episodes that would never come. 

Those first three films didn't exactly set the box offices ablaze, so it was a wonder why Warner Bros handed him the Batman mask for Batman and Robin.  As most remember, that film was a disappointment in all realms, but it was interesting to watch Clooney simply fade into the background in a film in which he was ostensibly the star.  It seemed like he wasn't the type of actor who was good at wearing masks; that he felt more comfortable just being himself.  He was struggling to find his place in a world in which blockbusters were king.  After his first few films I was convinced this guy would never be more than Dr. Doug Ross from ER no matter how much he yearned to be a bigger star; and with the films he was choosing, it seemed that he had more interest in being a star than in being an actor.

Then Clooney met Steven Soderbergh, a filmmaker who had been having his own rough patch for a few years, and they saved each other's careers when they made Out of Sight, one of the best films of the 90's.  After that picture, one in which Soderbergh refused to let Clooney do any of his signature acting moves, it seemed that Clooney felt invigorated, like he finally found the textbook for how to be successful in Hollywood.  It was in those parts where Clooney wasn't a total hero or a total villain, when he was playing characters that were conflicted and human, that was when he really shined.  In films like From Dusk Til Dawn, his handsome face just wouldn't allow the audience to believe that he was a crazed killer.  In Out of Sight, though, with stubble and a limp, we could buy him as a bank robber, especially in that moment where he tries to get a real job and he throws down that tie in frustration, eschewing all semblance of a "normal" life.

The partnership between Clooney and Soderbergh would lead to several fruitful ventures, either commercially (the Oceans movies) or artistically (Solaris, Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck) but it was rare to find a film that really straddled the line for Clooney.  Either you could see the wheels spinning and he was trying to make a successful film (The Perfect Storm) or he was trying to hard to satisfy his artistic ambitions that it left audiences cold (The Good German).  His one attempt to really balance this out was David O. Russell's Three Kings, a war film disguised as a treasure hunt, and audiences didn't exactly lap it up, but it was probably one of the most daring and prescient films about the Gulf War and it gave Clooney the opportunity to work in an ensemble cast, where he seems to excel.  It seemed that Clooney was very much hit or miss, either with audiences or with critics.

On the heels of a ten million dollar opening for a modestly budgeted film, Michael Clayton looks to be the film in which Clooney has satisfied audiences and critics alike with one fell swoop.  In Tony Gilroy's directorial debut, Clooney plays the title character who is described as a "fixer" at a big, important New York City law firm.  Trouble arises on a few fronts; Michael is in debt because of a failed business venture and his mentor Arthur Edens (played brilliantly by Tom Wilkinson) has decided not to take his medication for manic depression during an important deposition, which causes Arthur to strip naked in the deposition room in Milwaukee and is thrown in jail.  Michael flies out to help Arthur who is rambling incoherently, yet making more sense than any other character in the film.  Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), meanwhile, represents the company that Arthur was supposed to be fighting for in the depositions and she is one of the most humanely drawn villains in the history of cinema; she tries her best to stifle the truth for the best interests of her company, whatever it may take and we see her struggle with that when she is alone. 

The story is deceptively simple, but it is a lot to wrap one's head around, especially with the way Gilroy has structured it.  It never takes a breath or slows down for the benefit of the audience, expecting you to be smart enough to keep up with it on your own.  This is a stripped-down, bare-bones, no-frills thriller without a whole lot of thrills.  It is reminiscent of films like Prince of the City or All the President's Men, films that are rarely made these days that center around interesting characters having interesting conversations, rather than bland characters hidden behind a façade of explosions.  It is about nothing less than the battle between good and evil, right and wrong and the film doesn't need to be set on a gigantic stage like Transformers, instead the filmmakers know that the battle for our planet takes place not in outer space or the Grand Canyon, but in tiny deposition rooms in Milwaukee. 

There are some wonderful supporting performances, namely that of Tilda Swinton who has fast become one of the most significant actors (female or otherwise) in film right now.  She is one of the few actresses out there that has truly elevated the craft of "acting" into an art form.  She is only in a handful of scenes, but her presence is felt throughout and she doesn't need to spout a lot of words to be effectively menacing.  Her performance almost seems like an allusion to the Bush presidency, as her character is not especially terrifying except in the ways in which she doesn't understand her actions.  She seems paralyzed by her own fear of failure that she is willing to do some pretty horrific things.  But it's those moments when she is alone that we see how these actions take their toll on her, as she stares into the mirror and tries to wipe the sweat from her armpits.

Tom Wilkinson is one of the finest actors out there right now, as evidenced by his extraordinarily moving and tender performance in Todd Field's In the Bedroom, and he is just as wonderful in this film.  It would be so easy for this character to fall into a caricature of mental disorder, as Wilkinson could have easily fallen into the trap of eccentric tics.  Instead, Wilkinson plays the character as a messianic figure, playing him as the smartest character in the film, his wisdom derived from age and experience as well as delusion.  He talks a mile a minute and his dialogue meanders all over the place, but it's to Wilkinson's credit that it's never too hard to follow.  The way he speaks lines like "I am Shiva, God of death," make the words sound beautiful and true rather than the ramblings of a crazy person.

The fact that Clooney is willing to cede many of the best lines and best scenes to two great actors in Wilkinson and Swinton and yet still come away as the most interesting and charismatic character in the room at all times is nothing short of miraculous.  But this is a film that rests entirely in the hands of how well that title character is played.  This character is amoral, unethical and perhaps the most human character that Clooney has ever portrayed.  Everything that Michael does can be explained as a way of self-preservation, so we can't exactly hate him for being in bed with the devil because it's in his best interest.  There are moments when Michael could either do the "right" thing or he could sell out and neither would make us think any less of this character because he's in a position that we can sympathize with.  We understand that we are selfish creatures and for that reason, we don't mind that Michael "fixes" things that should remain broken.  This is all a testament to how well Clooney plays this part and I don't think there is any other actor who could bring the kind of moral complexity and leading man good looks to this role. 

Michael Clayton is a film that has a very deliberate pace and if you are inclined to stick with it, you will be rewarded by one of the most satisfying endings I've seen in recent history.  It's the kind of ending that makes you sit back and marvel at all of the wonderful things that have just come together, from the acting and the dialogue to the exquisitely composed shot of George Clooney walking out of a building.  And that's the beauty of it, the ending of the film that will make you slink into your chair is simply a scene of George Clooney and Tilda Swinton talking.  There is a scene that follows that is quite moving, the credits rolling over an image that will evoke different emotions in different audiences.  But, it is a simple image, not an incendiary one and it made me feel like all of the characters are stuck in a moral purgatory.

Tony Gilroy was already somebody to watch, as evidenced by his scripts for the Bourne films, but now he is a force to be reckoned with as a director.  He is not Michael Bay, not needing sweeping shots to tell his story.  There is nothing fancy about what he does with the camera, he simply just puts it in the right place at the right time.  There are some beautiful shots, but they never get in the way of the fact that this is a film about people talking.  There is one explosion and it's not a typical "movie" explosion that looks beautiful in its rage, instead looking truly frightening.  This film is a perfect example of a simple story told well, but the depth of the characters and the intelligence of the script make this picture a must for repeat viewing.  There is simply too much nuance to be caught the first time around.  It's a film that I enjoyed while watching, but it was also one that became greater and greater as the hours passed. 

It is of note that the film was executive produced by three great directors in Anthony Minghella, Steven Soderbergh and Sydney Pollack (who also co-stars in a delicious role) and with that kind of pedigree putting their weight behind this project, it's no wonder that it is as well done as it is.  Clooney is a director in his own right as well and it seems that since Good Night and Good Luck, he has a better idea of how well subtlety translates to the screen.

I hope that Clooney can continue down this road because I truly feel that this could be his niche.  I have enjoyed most of his entertaining films as well as a lot of his more artistic ones, but I feel that he is at his best when he straddles the line like he has with Michael Clayton.  It is when he makes films like this that he feel he can be the new Cary Grant, America's leading man.  It proves that not all art has to gag you like medicine, that sometimes a little bit of entertainment can help it go down.

There is a point in Michael Clayton where the main character worries that if a certain character leaves the law firm, then nobody will understand what it is he does.  It is now clear to all of us what it is that Clooney does: he is willing to entertain us and turning off our brains is not a prerequisite.

- Noah Forrest
October 22, 2007

Other columns by Noah Forrest
10.02.07 - Jake Paltrow's The Good Night
09.27.07 - Cleaning House
09.20.07 - Top 10 To Date
09.13.07 - Film Vs Television
08.31.07 - Halloween Review
08.28.07 - Who Is The Next Scorsese?
08.21.07 - Fall Preview
08.14.07 - The Horrific State Of The Horror Film
08.10.07 - Reservations About Catherine Zeta-Jones
08.07.07 - Saving Steven Spielberg
07.30.07 - Skinheads in the Cinema & This Is England
07.28.07 - Siena Miller: Good or Evil?
07.26.07 - The Frenzy on the Wall

Noah Forrest is a 24 year old aspiring writer/filmmaker in New York City.

The opinions expressed in these columns are the writers and do not neccessarily reflect the opinions of Movie City News or any of its editors or other contributors.

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