Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton is a skilled lawyer and gambling addict with a failed marriage, disappointed son, floundering side business, and a good case of the self hate’s. He’s seventeen years at a prestigious Manhattan law firm but he hasn’t made partner, that’s because instead he’s the firms fixer, capable of subsuming all humanity to get the job done. Only we can’t fully subsume our humanity, or if we can were arguably dangerous enough to be locked up. There are avenues to Michael’s humanity, plenty of them, only he’s largely given up on himself. However his old mentor (Tom Wilkinson) thinks he’s destined to help him fulfill a divine mission, and circumstances beyond his control might just get the depressed man to a place where he can do just that.

Michael Clayton is about Rot, rot at the heart of law, and argo-business, and human relationships. It all reminds me of one of those plunging Paddy Chayefsky screenplays from the 70's (especially the Tom Wilkinson part, he’s a character straight out of Chayefsky), only its not quite so overtly satirical. It works better then ‘A Civil Action’ or ‘Runaway Jury’ or any of a similar lot of “message” law films, largely because its less about the message and more about the humanity. An excellent movie, it’s now my favorite of George Clooney’s works.