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Michael Clayton (2007)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Tony Gilroy (written by)
Release Date:
12 October 2007 (USA)
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Tagline:
The Truth Can Be Adjusted
Plot:
A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 12 wins
&
51 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(255 articles)
Review | Drifting Through Layoffs: Clooney Plays his Trumpcard in Reitman’s “Up in the Air”
(From indieWIRE. 30 November 2009, 6:45 AM, PST)
trailer break: ‘Up in the Air’
(From FlickFilosopher. 24 November 2009, 7:59 AM, PST)
(From indieWIRE. 30 November 2009, 6:45 AM, PST)
trailer break: ‘Up in the Air’
(From FlickFilosopher. 24 November 2009, 7:59 AM, PST)
User Comments:
An elegant work showing a filthy world
more (319 total)
US TV Schedule:
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Tom Wilkinson | ... | Arthur Edens |
 | Michael O'Keefe | ... | Barry Grissom |
 | Sydney Pollack | ... | Marty Bach |
 | Danielle Skraastad | ... | Bridget Klein (voice) |
 | Tilda Swinton | ... | Karen Crowder |
 | George Clooney | ... | Michael Clayton |
| Wai Chan | ... | Chinese Dealer |
 | Alberto Vazquez | ... | Player #1 |
| Brian Koppelman | ... | Player #2 |
| Thomas McCarthy | ... | Walter (voice) (as Tom McCarthy) |
 | Denis O'Hare | ... | Mr. Greer |
| Julie White | ... | Mrs. Greer |
 | Austin Williams | ... | Henry Clayton |
 | Jennifer Van Dyck | ... | Ivy |
| Frank Wood | ... | Gerald |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language including some sexual dialogue.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
UK:15 |
Ireland:15A |
Norway:11 |
Finland:K-11 |
Australia:MA |
Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) |
Canada:G (Quebec) |
Canada:PG (British Columbia) |
Germany:12 |
Denmark:11 |
Netherlands:6 |
Hong Kong:IIB |
USA:R (certificate #43163) |
Sweden:11 |
Argentina:13 |
Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) |
France:U |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) |
South Korea:15 |
Singapore:NC-16 |
Brazil:12 |
South Africa:13L |
Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) |
New Zealand:M |
Norway:10 (TV rating) |
India:A
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Was the only movie at the Oscars in 2008 to receive more than one acting nomination - it received three.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Michael complains of being unable to locate or contact his brother Timmy, but after his car blows up, and without a cell phone, he is able to get Timmy to come pick him up that morning.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Arthur Edens: Michael. Dear Michael. Of course it's you, who else could they send, who else could be trusted? I... I know it's a long way and you're ready to go to work... all I'm saying is wait, just wait, just-just-just... please hear me out because this is not an episode, relapse, fuck-up, it's... I'm begging you Michael. I'm begging you. Try and make believe this is not just madness because this is not just madness. Two weeks ago I came out of the building, okay, I'm running across Sixth Avenue, there's a car waiting, I got exactly 38 minutes to get to the airport and I'm dictating. There's this, this panicked associate sprinting along beside me, scribbling in a notepad, and suddenly she starts screaming, and I realize we're standing in the middle of the street, the light's changed, there's this wall of traffic, serious traffic speeding towards us, and I... I-I freeze, I can't move, and I'm suddenly consumed with the overwhelming sensation that I'm covered with some sort of film. It's in my hair, my face... it's like a glaze... like a... a coating, and... at first I thought, oh my god, I know what this is, this is some sort of amniotic - embryonic - fluid. I'm drenched in afterbirth, I've-I've breached the chrysalis, I've been reborn. But then the traffic, the stampede, the cars, the trucks, the horns, the screaming and I'm thinking no-no-no-no, reset, this is not rebirth, this is some kind of giddy illusion of renewal that happens in the final moment before death. And then I realize no-no-no, this is completely wrong because I look back at the building and I had the most stunning moment of clarity. I... I... I... I realized Michael, that I had emerged not from the doors of Kenner, Bach, and Ledeen, not through the portals of our vast and powerful law firm, but from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the... the-the-the poison, the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other, larger, more powerful organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity. And that I had been coated in this patina of shit for the best part of my life. The stench of it and the stain of it would in all likelihood take the rest of my life to undo. And you know what I did? I took a deep cleansing breath and I set that notion aside. I tabled it. I said to myself as clear as this may be, as potent a feeling as this is, as true a thing as I believe that I have witnessed today, it must wait. It must stand the test of time. And Michael, the time is now.
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Arthur Edens: Michael. Dear Michael. Of course it's you, who else could they send, who else could be trusted? I... I know it's a long way and you're ready to go to work... all I'm saying is wait, just wait, just-just-just... please hear me out because this is not an episode, relapse, fuck-up, it's... I'm begging you Michael. I'm begging you. Try and make believe this is not just madness because this is not just madness. Two weeks ago I came out of the building, okay, I'm running across Sixth Avenue, there's a car waiting, I got exactly 38 minutes to get to the airport and I'm dictating. There's this, this panicked associate sprinting along beside me, scribbling in a notepad, and suddenly she starts screaming, and I realize we're standing in the middle of the street, the light's changed, there's this wall of traffic, serious traffic speeding towards us, and I... I-I freeze, I can't move, and I'm suddenly consumed with the overwhelming sensation that I'm covered with some sort of film. It's in my hair, my face... it's like a glaze... like a... a coating, and... at first I thought, oh my god, I know what this is, this is some sort of amniotic - embryonic - fluid. I'm drenched in afterbirth, I've-I've breached the chrysalis, I've been reborn. But then the traffic, the stampede, the cars, the trucks, the horns, the screaming and I'm thinking no-no-no-no, reset, this is not rebirth, this is some kind of giddy illusion of renewal that happens in the final moment before death. And then I realize no-no-no, this is completely wrong because I look back at the building and I had the most stunning moment of clarity. I... I... I... I realized Michael, that I had emerged not from the doors of Kenner, Bach, and Ledeen, not through the portals of our vast and powerful law firm, but from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the... the-the-the poison, the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other, larger, more powerful organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity. And that I had been coated in this patina of shit for the best part of my life. The stench of it and the stain of it would in all likelihood take the rest of my life to undo. And you know what I did? I took a deep cleansing breath and I set that notion aside. I tabled it. I said to myself as clear as this may be, as potent a feeling as this is, as true a thing as I believe that I have witnessed today, it must wait. It must stand the test of time. And Michael, the time is now.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (#1.4)" (2009)
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Soundtrack:
Midnight Cocktail
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FAQ
What is a fixer? What is Michael Clayton's job?What crime did Karen implicate herself in?
Is the plot of Michael Clayton based on any pre-existing publication such as book or other medium?
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more (319 total)
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"Michael Clayton" is the name of the best lawyer in the powerhouse litigation firm of Kenner, Bach, & Ledeen. So good, he's not allowed to waste himself in court; he's used to clean up the messes the firm's rich and powerful clients cause -- and he's damn good at his job. Problem is, it's destroying him from the inside out. At least...it's doing so until he slams headlong into a problem that forces him to see the decay growing within. That problem comes in the form of a brilliant but guilt-ridden attorney named Arthur Edens, whose spectacular meltdown during a deposition has thrown a HUGE class-action suit against a conglomerate called UNorth into turmoil. Michael is sent to get him back under control...or else, thus setting in motion what is, in my mind, one of the most breathtaking suspense dramas I've seen in years.
Starting with a tight, stunning script by Tony Gilroy, this movie has every cylinder firing in perfect sync. The acting is, without exception, exceptional. George Clooney takes a vile human being and inhabits him with such sympathy and understanding, he becomes just another man fighting to keep his life going who IS still capable of decency. (The moment where, after Michael's son has seen a beloved uncle who's an addict come groveling for forgiveness, he stops the car and lets the boy know he's stronger than that uncle is so right and so perfect, I nearly wept.) And Tilda Swinton's litigator, Karen Crowder, is so desperate and unsure, you can almost understand why she makes some of the decisions she does. And Tom Wilkinson blazes across the screen as Arthur Edens, who has finally seen the evil within himself and wants to make it right but who, despite all his legal brilliance, is still naive enough to think he can get away with it.
The direction is taut, cinematography and editing cool and precise, and all are at the service of an elegant work that uses the suspense genre to illuminate a filthy world that has been glossed over by money and power. Magnificent in every way.