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DVD Tuesday: Multiple Oscar-nominee Michael Clayton on DVD
George Clooney in Michael Clayton courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
DVD Tuesday: Michael Clayton — cynicism, disillusionment and all those Oscar nominations!
Michael Clayton has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture, so now's the time catch up with it on DVD.
Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a lawyer, but Michael Clayton isn't a courtroom drama: It's dedicated to the proposition that the real drama of legal proceedings takes place everywhere but in court.
And Clayton is the guy who, in most films about the law, would be the bad guy: An in-house fixer for the white-shoe Manhattan firm of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen. He brokers private deals, talks reason into arrogant clients convinced they can get away with murder and babysits for staffers with problems, like senior partner Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), a great guy as long as he takes his psychotropic meds. The firm needs Clayton enough that they've bailed him out of his own messes, notably a recurring gambling problem. But he's not quite their sort, a blue-collar scrapper who put himself through public schools rather than a privileged Ivy Leaguer. And Clayton is fine with that, until the day he isn't.
That day arrives when he's sent to Milwaukee to retrieve Edens, who's about to blow a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit for the firm. Their client, agribusiness conglomerate U/North, is accused of deliberately marketing carcinogenic pesticides, and Edens has proof that they're guilty as charged. Beset by personal problems and off his medication, Edens has decided to expose U/North rather than protect it. Clayton's assignment is to get Edens under control, but Edens is as smart as he is unbalanced and U/North has put its own dog on the job: Newly appointed chief in-house counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), who's got a lot to prove and a lot to lose if she doesn't silence Edens.
Screenwriter and first-time director Tony Gilroy (his credits include all three Bourne movies) pulls off a remarkable feat in Michael Clayton: Making a film about a compromised man's moral awakening (or, more correctly, reawakening) that isn't cloying, sentimental or false.
That he wraps it in the trappings of a smart, genuinely gripping thriller in which car chases and gunfights take a backseat to tainted words and backroom manipulation is just the icing on the cake. He richly deserves both his best screenplay and best directing nominations, as do Clooney, Wilkinson and Swinton in the acting categories. The film is a real gem that never found its audience in theaters, so don't let it get away now that it's on DVD.
Things to Consider:
Everyone has a favorite lawyer joke or demeaning quote (Charles Dickens' "The law is a ass" and Shakespeare's "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" are perennials) – so why are there so many movies and TV shows about lawyers?
What's your favorite legal thriller?
Send your movie questions to FlickChick.
Hear Maitland on the weekly podcast TV Guide Talk.
See Maitland McDonagh and Ken Fox review this week's new flicks on the Movie Talk vodcast.
Previously in DVD Tuesday:
Network
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
Shoot 'Em Up
Freeway
A Mighty Wind
It's a Wonderful Life
Waitress
Laura
Cop
All About Eve
Severance
Sweet Smell of Success
Daughters of Darkness
The Crazies
Blade Runner
Zodiac
Manhunter
A Simple Plan
Taxi Driver
Renaissance
Blowup
Hot Fuzz
300
Ace in the Hole
Eyes Without a Face
Apocalypto
Citizen Kane
La Jetée
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
Bob le Flambeur
Near Dark
Perfect Blue
Pan's Labyrinth
Les Girls
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
The Queen
Expresso Bongo
I'm Not Scared
Shocking Grindhouse Double Bill! — Scanners and The Candy Snatchers
Don't Look Now
Re-Animator
Casino Royale
Pi
The Prestige
13 Tzameti
The Departed
Suspiria
Kiss and Make Up
Kiss Me Deadly
The Long Good Friday
What Alice Found
The Devil's Backbone
The Descent
The Devil Wears Prada
Pandora's Box
The Thief and the Cobbler
Nashville
Panic in the Streets/Jack Palance Interview
The Pusher Trilogy
Scarface
Slither
Sunset Blvd.
In Cold Blood
Brick
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Feb 20, 2008 1:58 PM
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What's your favorite legal thriller?
Up there near the top has got to be Primal Fear.
I still can't believe that Edward Norton didn't win an Oscar for his role.
But what do I know-My Cousin Vinny "earned" one!! Uuuugh!
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Feb 20, 2008 6:36 PM
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So, I'm sitting here, going through all the legal thrillers I can think of, and honestly I'm not all that fond of any of them. I mean, I like them just fine, but there's no one that I really love. They're all just too much... John Grisham-like. If I had to pick one, I guess I'd make it a tie between Michael Clayton and the first season of Murder One.
(I predict soon someone is going to make a comment like "Oh, well, the best legal thriller is obviously 'Baseless Evidence' starring Bafta-award winning actor Lawrence Spaceman as Jimmy Jurist, a rogue lawyer fighting the fight for the little guy against EvilCorp, and their head of legal affairs, Marky Antagonist!", and I'm gonna be like, "Well duh! 'Uncorroborated Evidence' rocks! I'm such an idiot for not thinking of it!")
On the other hand, there's lots of excellent legal dramas. At the top of my list would probably be "12 Angry Men" closely followed by "To Kill a Mockingbird".
As for the the strong appeal of legal thrillers, I don't really have any advanced theories (this seems like a perfect spot to make an argument based on Jungian archetypes or something, but I can't come up with one at the moment). If I were to guess, I'd say it has probably something to do with the fascination with crime-stories in general. Lawyer-flicks are probably just another facet of the cops-and-robbers story, with a little more intellectual twist.
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Feb 20, 2008 7:04 PM
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so why are there so many movies and TV shows about lawyers?
I think we still like to see the bad guy go down and the law correct some of society's failings.
I'm always amazed at the "regular" people who bemoan what they term "frivolous" lawsuits. I think the lawsuit is the only weapon the little guy has against the big guy. Look at how things like eminent domain laws stack the odds in favor of the rich and powerful. The fact that we can at least, though not always successfully, challenge them says something good about us as a nation.
It was the law, courtroom drama in real life, that helped end slavery, child labor and enabled women to attend institutions of higher learning, vote and run for public office.
Once we convince ourselves that there is no hope in the legal system and become entirely cynical about it we will be tying our own hands. Movies and TV help keep the ideal element of the law alive in real life. Movies and TV do have an influence on many of our moral positions and choices. Movies about the law are no exception. And, cinematically speaking, the tension regarding a trial's outcome is hard to beat. It's an easy play, admittedly, but still an effective one.
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Feb 21, 2008 2:59 AM
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DaMess - frankly, I think the real reason that people complain about frivolous lawsuits are really good lobbyists. I'm talking about those lobbyists that have so brain washed Congress and the electorate to believe that lawsuits are costing our nation billions of dollars. Of course, those lobbyists represent the conglomerates that are the targets of those lawsuits.
As a lawyer, I've noticed that people tend to view us as lower than low, that is until they need you. Then, you were sent by the angels above. When I was a prosecutor, I would first get the eye-roll "Oh, you're a lawyer. Ugh!" Then, the "Oh, you're a prosecutor. Well, that's different." Which, in my mind, I'm thinking "Not if you're the defendant!"
I tend to shy away from legal dramas especially those on TV. I always wind up yelling at the TV durining the courtroom scenes.
I don't have a favorite legal thriller in movies - they just don't translate well. I did love the novel Presumed Innocent, but that was really just a mystery that happened to involve lawyers. I agree with Oskar that there are some great legal dramas, including To Kill a Mockingbird and 12 Angry Men.
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Feb 21, 2008 11:28 AM
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I don't have a lot of experience with lawyers, which I suppose is good. I once tried to explain to my son that tv lawyers don't exist. It isn't like they show it on tv. I truely do not believe lawyers care about their clients to the degree it is shown on tv. Oh, they do if you have a lot of money or a famous name but for the regular person? I just don't believe it. Of course I am in a bad mood because I got another jury summons yesterday and I live in a major city so it will be a real hassel to go.
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Feb 21, 2008 11:44 AM
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Mr. F:
I know a lot of people "can't believe" that Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny. But I watch that movie every time it's on cable. And I think, honestly, that she deserved it! Yes, she was in a comedy and all the actresses she went up against were in dramas. Good but depressing dramas. She brought that character to life.
As for great legal thrillers, I am partial to From the Hip with Judd Nelson. I kid! I kid!!
Really tho, I do enjoy:
The Jagged Edge (courtroom + slasher and I am down)
Suspect
The Paradine Case (lesser Hitch but I like it)
Anatomy of a Murder
Witness for the Prosecution
Do To Kill a Mockingbird and Twelve Angry Men count? I think they should even though the former is about far more than the case that's on trial. And the latter doesn't even take place in the courtroom. Seeing the lawyers go at it and mixing it up with the judge is what I love best about the genre.
Bad legal thriller with critical praise? I think A Few Good Men tops the list!
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Feb 21, 2008 12:50 PM
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But what do I know-My Cousin Vinny "earned" one!! Uuuugh!
Cousin Vinny is one of my alltime favorites and in my opinion Tomei deserved her award!
Bad legal thriller with critical praise? I think A Few Good Men tops the list!
Another favorite! Usually my favorite movies are not associated with winning oscars - this one was the exception.
Myself - I'm a sucker for John Grisham novels/movies. Some of my favorites:
A Time To Kill
Pelican Brief
The Client
Rainmaker
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Feb 21, 2008 12:57 PM
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I think the real reason that people complain about frivolous lawsuits....
Actually, I think one reason your average Joe complains about frivolous lawsuits is in part do to the fact that the Really frivolous lawsuits, like the multi-million dollar "Case of the Missing Pants" are usually the only ones that get national media attention. They may be few and far between, but that's all we see!!
I agree that it is a good thing for the little guy to have that weapon against "corporate bullies' and other big shots.
Achy-I like Marisa Tomei, and yes it was great to see a comedic role win an Oscar for a change-I'm just saying-even though they didn't compete against one another, I still think Norton was far more deserving then some of the past winners. PS-My only real problem with MCV was not Marisa.
He is good at what he does-but I can only take Joe Pesci in small doses-but that's just me!
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Feb 21, 2008 1:15 PM
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Other than that movie and Casino, I can do without him, frankly.
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Feb 21, 2008 1:51 PM
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What?!!!
No love for Gone Fishin'?!!! 
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Feb 21, 2008 2:11 PM
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Other than that movie and Casino, I can do without him, frankly.
Aren't you forgetting Goodfellas. He was very good in that role. I have never been more terrified of a 4'-10" guy before in my life!
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Feb 21, 2008 4:27 PM
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Actually, no I wasn't forgetting it! But to each their own, right?
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Feb 21, 2008 4:57 PM
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@Ranger99
"Myself - I'm a sucker for John Grisham novels/movies. Some of my favorites:
A Time To Kill
Pelican Brief
The Client
Rainmaker"
Dude, no kidding
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Feb 21, 2008 9:14 PM
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Excellent points honbun.
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Feb 22, 2008 2:59 AM
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