'Michael Clayton' portrays ancient conflict between purity and profit
The stakes are high, the pace is fast and the performances are uniformly intense in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.). This potent legal drama, which focuses on just a few days in the complicated life of its title character, manages to deliver not only intrigue and suspense, but moral and psychological insight as well.
Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is a "fixer" for Kenner, Bach and Ledeen, a high-powered law firm led by partner Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack). As such, he's used to cleaning up all manner of personal problems, from hit-and-run accidents to arrests for shoplifting.
Even Clayton's skills are put to the test, however, when the firm's top litigator, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has a meltdown during a vital deposition. The case at hand is a multimillion-dollar class-action suit against U/North, a major agrochemical company.
When the recovering Edens begins to show signs of turning traitor in the case, U/North's legal counsel, Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), makes it clear to Clayton that the rogue partner must be controlled by whatever means necessary. Given Edens' mastery of the law, however, this will not be an easy task.
Adding to the pressure is the fact that Clayton is in debt to a loan shark. His only chance of clearing the debt is to receive a substantial "bonus" from the firm. But that, in turn, depends on his success in restraining the unpredictable and determined Edens.
Fans of the Jason Bourne trilogy will not be surprised that the writer of that series, Tony Gilroy, makes his directorial debut here with a sleek and masterfully absorbing film, one which he also scripted. Equally magisterial and compelling are the performances by Clooney, who also served as the film's executive producer; Pollack, also a producer; and Swinton.
As fine as the whole cast is, however, the film ultimately belongs to Wilkinson. From the manic opening monologue onward, his character, teetering between insight and insanity, poses the essential question: whether it is he, or the system against which he is rebelling, that has truly run amok.
Although "Michael Clayton" sometimes carries its critique of legal and economic corruption beyond the strict bounds of realism, the moral concerns the film raises are, nonetheless, both weighty and relevant. The conflict between purity and profit, between the highest obligations and the bottom line is an ancient one. Yet its portrayal here is as fresh and effective as it is stark.
The film contains much rough and crude and some crass language, frequent use of profanity, and one scene of a female character in clinging underwear. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
-- John Mulderig
Feel the Noise (TriStar)
Pleasant if naive musical in which an aspiring rapper (Omarion Grandberry) must leave his Harlem home and the single mother who raised him (Kellita Smith) after attempting to steal the wrong person's hubcaps, and goes to stay with his father (Giancarlo Esposito) and stepmother (Rosa Arredando) in Puerto Rico, where he befriends his musically inclined stepbrother (Victor Rasuk), falls in love with a local dancer (Zulay Henao), discovers the pop music genre called reggaeton, and manages to impress a New York-based music producer (James McCaffrey). Director Alejandro Chomski's film is mostly just a showcase for the singing and dancing, but fans of world music, and of reggaeton in particular, will no doubt enjoy what they hear. Sexual activity without nudity, drug use, skimpy clothing, suggestive dancing, one use of the f-word, two uses of the n-word, and occasional crass and crude language. (A-III, PG-13)
The Heartbreak Kid (DreamWorks)
Wry, often tasteless farce about a commitment-shy bachelor (Ben Stiller) who, under pressure from his father (Jerry Stiller) and his best friend (Rob Corddry), finally takes the plunge, only to discover on his honeymoon in Mexico that his new wife (Malin Akerman) is a vulgar, whiny shrew, after which he promptly falls in love with another woman (Michelle Monaghan) who's staying at the same resort. Peter and Bobby Farrelly's remake of Elaine May's 1972 marital comedy (scripted by Neil Simon) has some genuinely funny moments, but these are more than overshadowed by scenes of outrageous coarseness. Graphic sexual activity, full-frontal and upper female nudity, grossly scatological humor, implied bestiality, drug use, comic adultery theme, pervasive rough and crude language, and occasional use of profanity. (O, R)
The Seeker (Fox Walden)
Slight but entertaining fantasy about a 14-year-old American boy (Alexander Ludwig) living in England with his parents (John Benjamin Hickey and Wendy Crewson), his sister (Emma Lockhart) and four brothers (Gregory Smith, Drew Tyler Bell, Edmund Entin and Gary Entin), who learns that he is "The Seeker," the last in a succession of supernatural warriors known as the Old Ones. With the assistance of four of his elders in this hearty band (Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, James Cosmo and Jim Piddock) he must undertake to fulfill an ancient prophecy by gathering together six magical signs, all the while battling the forces of darkness embodied by a malevolent equestrian (Christopher Eccleston) and fighting off the distraction posed by an attractive local girl (Amelia Warner) one of his brothers is dating. The film, as directed by David L. Cunningham, makes up for a thin plot with an evocative atmosphere, fun special effects and positive moral values. Passing references to puberty and a few scenes that may frighten very young children. (A-I, PG) John Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.
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