by The Film Blogger

Created on: September 10, 2009

In recent years, Tony Gilroy has become something of a virtuoso in writing slick, intense, and foremost, smart thrillers. The advertising for his latest outing, "Michael Clayton", tells us "the truth can be adjusted", and the dichotomy of right and wrong, pitted against what is true and false, is an ever-recurrent theme of the majority of Gilroy's other works (including The Devil's Advocate and the Bourne series).

Whilst Jason Bourne veers on the edge of veracity, Clooney's considerably more complex Clayton lands firmly between what he purports to be justifiably distorting the truth (or "fixing", as he calls it), and as becomes his test, exposing the truly wicked, dirt sheet cover-ups of his superiors.

Michael Clayton opens with what one could easily dismiss as an overly-wordy, mightily confusing, dare I say pretentious monologue, and whilst it initially left a sour taste in my mouth, you'll be laughing at yourself twenty-five minutes later as things begin to unravel. This opening scene very much embodies the essence of the film - it mystifies, and might even disgust you briefly (as it unapologetically references sequences later in the film), but once Gilroy's smoke subsides, the film satisfies in every way a film of this ilk should.

From the very outset, Clooney is sure to play his role as calmly and sedately as possible - he even appears to be lacking affect at times, but like the narrative itself, Clooney's titular character is a slow-burner, but when he kicks, he kicks with all the might of a football striker. We learn very quickly that Clayton is a "fixer", deftly cleaning up the messes of his law firm's clients, and in this respect you'd think Clayton might be a bit of a scumbag, but Clooney resists cracking the cocksure smile, and enjoys a seemingly loving relationship with his son, so it's hard to dislike the guy, especially once the credits roll. Furthermore, when you compare Clayton with near enough anyone else in this film, he's a veritable angel.

Clayton is, like many of us, a slave to the wage - he has his own monetary problems, as well as being divorced, but employs a stiff upper lip that doesn't quite put Gary Cooper to shame, but it's not far off. Furthermore, the fact that Clooney is able to pull this off without appearing emotionally shallow is commendable to say the least - Clayton smoulders under the surface, never quite snapping or exploding, but we're made aware that the sour broth is well and truly simmering.

However, as straight-laced

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