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Movie Overview
Cast
• George Clooney
• Tom Wilkinson
• Tilda Swinton
Director
• Tony Gilroy
MPAA Rating
R - for language including some sexual dialogue
Michael Clayton (2007)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS
OTHER
OFCS Rating: 88% Fresh
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A-
"The story is elaborate and demands the utmost of patience, and the final confrontation is one that won't soon be forgotten -- particularly if you're George Clooney at the height of awards season."  FromTheBalcony  Bill Clark

3.5/5
"Michael Clayton is a lot of things - somber, menacing, heartfelt, and heroic. It tells an intriguing tale in a wonderfully evocative manner. Unfortunately, there is one thing that it's not - and that's great."  PopMatters  Bill Gibron

"Legal miracle workers or "fixers" hide simple truths behind a calculated barrage of extraneous smoke and mirrors, which is exactly the tactic screenwriter-turned-director Tony Gilroy employs for his directorial debut Michael Clayton."  european-films.net  Boyd van Hoeij

A-
"Hate the rest of the film, but I can't imagine anyone stepping outside of the theater and thinking Clooney's monumental work lacks absolute fire."  eFilmCritic.com  Brian Orndorf

B+
""Michael Clayton" is an up-to-the-minute allegory about the devastating power and malicious intent of a corporation that conceals its unethical actions with television commercials featuring close-ups of verdant nature."  ColeSmithey.com  Cole Smithey

"As mesmerizing as Michael's journey is throughout the film, and as much as the film is focused on his essential masculine recovery, Karen's plot is equally compelling."  PopMatters  Cynthia Fuchs

3.5/4
"...a very effective first effort from a promising new filmmaker."  Reel Film Reviews  David Nusair

A
"It barrels through its formulaic story and clichéd elements with its outstanding cast leading the way."  Ozus' World Movie Reviews  Dennis Schwartz

4/10
"Malo je gledatelja koji od prve ne%u0107e shvatiti tko su u filmu pozitivci a tko negativci."  Index.hr  Dragan Antulov

2.5/4
"Once the narrative edges toward meeting up with where it began, Michael Clayton becomes riveting stuff all the way until the gratifyingly acidic ending."  TheMovieBoy.com  Dustin Putman

3/5
"Un drama en clave de thriller sobre la corrupción corporativa, a medio camino entre El Informante y Erin Brockovich. Estupendo debut en la dirección del guionista Tony Gilroy."  Uruguay Total  Enrique Buchichio

A-
"Tasty mix of crowd-pleasing action and whip-smart storytelling."  EricDSnider.com  Eric D. Snider

2.5/4
"Despite an exceptional performance by Clooney, Michael Clayton is like watching a drawn-out third act that left the really compelling stuff back in the first two."  eFilmCritic.com  Erik Childress

A
"Unlikely and eerily realistic at the same time."  Film Blather  Eugene Novikov

B-
"There's a good deal less to the movie than meets the eye--and the ear. But there's still just enough to make for a close verdict in its favor."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

4/5
"A poignant and powerful thriller about corporate malfeasance that reveals what it is like to face life-shattering moments."  Spirituality and Practice  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

B+
"In some scenes, Clayton is the kick in the pants the whodunit genre desperately needs"  Modern Fabulousity  Gabriel Shanks

B
"Its earnest outrage at corporate corruption is at best naïve and at worst facile."  Cinepinion  Henry Stewart

3/4
"Michael Clayton builds to a fitting conclusion and doesn't need surprise twists or cheap theatrics to get to that point."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

4/5
"Michael Clayton simultaneously punches you in the gut and in the cranium because it never sacrifices the thrust of the narrative to its moral posturing."  Q Network Film Desk  James Kendrick

"Michael Clayton is at its best when it sticks to hard-bitten, this-is-how-the-world-works scenes between employers and employees, fathers and sons, executives and lawyers."  Cinematical  James Rocchi

3.5/4
"A resonant throwback with deep roots to the political thrillers of the 1970s; slick, smart and saturated in dramatic paranoia."  Palo Alto Weekly  Jeanne Aufmuth

9/10
"[Gilroy] shows that it's interesting to see how much suspense can be generated when one decides to do the right thing, simply because the forces at large will do everything they can to prevent it."  ReelTalk Movie Reviews  Jeffrey Chen

3/4
"Solid, complex character study from the team that's single-handedly championing the genre. This one finds the ever-improving George Clooney as a legal "fixer"."  Big Picture Big Sound  Joe Lozito

8/10
"Each new viewing brings something fresh and insightful with it."  DVDTown.com  John J. Puccio

2/5
""Man, I could be doing my laundry," I groused, as Clooney looked deep into the camera's eyes and gave me nothing."  Cinerina  Karina Montgomery

"Dude, there’s a bomb in your car."  Reeler  Keith Uhlich

2.5/4
"And while Gilroy deploys the occasional exploding car, the film's climax is all words -- angry, carefully sharpened words -- with the stopping power of large-caliber bullets."  TV Guide's Movie Guide  Maitland McDonagh

1.5/3
"Se trata de un thriller que no llega a enganchar realmente por sus escenas emocionantes o lo interesante de su trama, pero tampoco es una película de personajes."  Off-Off-Critica  MalaBesta

3.5/5
"Broad in its characterizations and message but subdued in presenting them through a complex plot."  UR Chicago Magazine  Mark Dujsik

6/10
"This is a tense thriller even if the basic plot turns out to be a little overly familiar."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  Mark R. Leeper

"Michael Clayton is -- hands-down, no-question, make-your-toes-curl-with-a-creative-crush -- the absolute best, most surprising, most devastating performance Clooney has given us yet."  Flick Filosopher  MaryAnn Johanson

3/4
"The perfectly cast Clooney gives the term 'star vehicle' a good name."  Mr. Brown's Movies  Michael Dequina

4/5
"Literate and convincing."  Goatdog's Movies  Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

4/4
"I've seen a lot of legal dramas over the years; this is one of the best (if not the best) of them."  Aisle Seat  Mike McGranaghan

B+
"George Clooney just keeps getting better and better. His performance here is rich and deep and layered, and seeing him work through his range of reactions is enormously moving. It provides a strong center for the legal thriller swirling around him."  Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies  Nell Minow

2.5/4
"There's sincerity in Gilroy's belief in man's aptitude for recognizing the error of his ways, as well as in his acknowledgement that realignments of one's moral compass often require great application."  Slant Magazine  Nick Schager

4/5
"Gilroy demonstra segurança invejável na condução da narrativa e na concepção estética do filme."  Cinema em Cena  Pablo Villaca

4/5
"What elevates it above the depressingly familiar storyline are the performances."  Film Threat  Pete Vonder Haar

5/5
"A taut, exciting and thoughtful legal thriller that is so smartly conceived and executed that to merely call it a "legal thriller" almost sounds demeaning."  eFilmCritic.com  Peter Sobczynski

4/5
"Insinuating and extremely clever, this insightful, low-key thriller takes a provocative look into the life of a man whose world begins to unravel around him."  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline

3/5
"The dialogue may crackle, but the characters are standard-issue."  eFilmCritic.com  Rob Gonsalves

B
"Out-Grishams Grisham at his own game, thanks to an engaging plot, fine acting and a pleasing twist at the end."  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

B
"...an intelligent thriller that does not have an axe to grind. Sure, there is the evil corporate entity and its pitiless lawyers but they are relative fodder to feed Michael's story of redemption."  Reeling Reviews  Robin Clifford

9/10
"Failing fixer Clooney is great but has to fight for center stage next to supporting actress Tilda Swinton as the ethically maimed corporate attorney. Add Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollock and a dynamite screenplay and we have the thriller of year."  Monsters and Critics  Ron Wilkinson

4.5/5
"gripping and complicated"  Filmcritic.com  Sean O'Connell

"George Clooney's subtle, affecting performance is the chief reason to see this super-sincere social drama."  Salon.com  Stephanie Zacharek

8/10
"An engrossing, character-driven, multi-layered legal thriller."  www.susangranger.com  Susan Granger

7/10
"When Clooney is onscreen, he is magnetic, pure and simple."  Antagony & Ecstasy  Tim Brayton

7/10
Read review  JoBlo's Movie Emporium  JoBlo
OFCS Rating: 88% Fresh
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