Michael Clayton: A Movie Worth Seeing, Even If Disappointing On Blu-ray

Starring: George Clooney (Ocean’s Trilogy, Syriana) as Michael Clayton, Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins) as Arthur Edens, Tilda Swinton (Constantine, The Chronicles of Narnia) as Karen Crowder, and Sydney Pollack (Director - Out of Africa) as Marty Bach
Directed by: Tony Gilroy (Writer/Co-writer - The Bourne Series)
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish

The Story
Clooney is Michael Clayton [Blu-ray], a man who “fixes things.” If you want something swept under the carpet or a skeleton locked in a wardrobe, he’s your man.

But today, he’s having a very bad day. You see, he can fix everyone else’s problems, but not his, as it seems. His restaurant business has collapsed, he owes money to the wrong people, and he has a gambling problem. To add to his woes, his old friend, top litigator Arthur Edens (Wilkinson) who’s handling a $3-billion class action lawsuit, is having what seems to be a very bad midlife crisis, which led to him stripping his clothes off in the middle of a deposition and calling one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs on a regular basis. Michael has been told to reel him in and pacify the client.

But as Michael tries to tidy up the mess surrounding Arthur, he discovers layer upon layer of lies and corruption unraveling like a spool of thread and some people will do the unspeakable to protect their corporation. Michael soon discovers that life, his included, is nothing compared to big business.

The entire cast in this powerhouse movie were topnotch, in particular Clooney who excels as the screwed one fighting for his very survival. Swinton was superb as the ambitious lead counsel who was prepared to commit murder in order to protect her boss, a deed that she does with a great deal of self-doubt. My favorite scene was the one between Michael and Karen when he confronts her about her actions. It was simply stunning. Watching her with her mouth wide open in shock and her knees buckling as she collapses was priceless. Wilkinson was fantastic as Arthur, a character who I at first thought was simply crazy but turned out to be one of the sanest in the movie.

This superb movie was directed by the writer/co-writer of the three Bourne movies using a similar high level of intelligence sadly lacking in many Hollywood movies of late. The two hours at no time seemed to drag, which is a credit to all concerned. I give it a 9/10.

The Visuals
The movie is encoded in VC-1 at an aspect ration of 2.4:1. The visuals were extremely sharp on this movie. Close up detail was superb, as were black levels. Shadow details were excellent. Skin color was natural, even in nighttime scenes. My girlfriend said Gorgeous George has never looked so good. Once again, a superb transfer. Definitely a 9/10.

The Audio
Unfortunately, we get yet another half-arsed audio transfer from Warner Bros. - simply lossy DD 5.1 at 640kbps. I know this was mainly a dialogue-driven movie, but it would still have been nice for Warner to make an effort and give us at least Dolby Tru-HD.

French and Spanish also came in DD 5.1. As it goes, it’s functional but not outstanding with “pop” factor. I have to give 6/10.

The Extras
Once again, Warner skimps on the extras. First up is an audio commentary by writer/director Tony Gilroy and editor John Gilroy. Next, we have a trio of deleted scenes that are basically scene extensions. They run just short of 6 minutes. They can be viewed with an audio commentary as well. I give a dismal 2/10.

Overall Impact
Overall, this is a superb movie with an excellent cast and great visuals, something to watch at least twice. Pity about the lackluster audio and the spartan extras. Come on, Warner, go on with the programme. I give it 7/10 all in all.

Popularity: 29% [?]