[ IMDb Entry ] [ Trailer ] [ Ebert ] [ Rating Key ]
I watched Michael Clayton today. It stars George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollack, and Tilda Swinton. Clooney plays the title character, a clean-up man for a major law firm. I wasn't very impressed with the plot, actually, especially the ending, but it did have very good acting. It's pretty much a movie to watch to see some good performances by some top actors. One thing I did like is that it didn't resort to tricks. It wasn't full of plot twists and such. Instead, you're pretty much told what's happening up front, and stuff just unfolds based on the natures of the characters.
So a while back, Matt Damon was on the Daily Show promoting The Bourne Ultimatum. They showed a clip of him talking to some British reporter, and it looks really stressful and stuff. Damon makes a joke about how the movie does contain a lot of talking, "but we're always talking REALLY INTENSELY." :)
After I watched Michael Clayton, I felt that it was like a Bourne movie, but without the gunfights and martial arts. 99% of the movie consisted of talking REALLY INTENSELY.
And guess what? It turns out that Tony Gilroy, the writer/director of Michael Clayton, was also the screenwriter for the Bourne movies! So I guess I actually guessed the writer based on his style! :) (The scientist in me feels compelled to point out that I'm committing the positive evidence fallacy, that there have probably been plenty of times where I noticed stylistic similarities and NOT have it turn out to be the same writer. But still. :P)
So yeah, go see this movie if you want to watch some good actors talk REALLY INTENSELY at each other for a couple of hours. Personally, I enjoyed it. I just wouldn't call it great.