Michael Clayton
- 01.23.2008 - 11:55 AMPeter, I’m no fan of the Oscars myself, and I think your post is spot-on. But I have to disagree with you about Michael Clayton. Tony Gilroy–the Bourne writer whose career has been pretty undistinguished except for the remarkable Dolores Claiborne–shocked me with his razor-sharp script: the corp-speak, Tom Wilkinson’s demented opening monologue, Tilda Swinton’s allusive, fear-choked vileness. And the direction was equally impressive: energetic but restrained. This is to say nothing of the fact that Gilroy coaxed a real performance out of George Clooney, who normally can’t act his way out a paper bag. And all this from a first-timer! I’d have to say it was the best American purebred thriller I’ve seen since the criminally underrated Spartan.
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January 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Spartan was awesome. No one I know in the world, except my wife, has even heard of that movie.
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:06 PM
I certainly enjoyed Spartan — I’m a huge Mamet fan. And maybe I could’ve been more clear about Clayton; I honestly enjoyed it quite a bit — even thought it was a good bit better than Spartan. But it didn’t (and doesn’t) strike me as an Oscar-class film, and it generally just doesn’t feel the sort of thing that usually gets nominated. It’s doesn’t fit into the usual categories — it’s not an epic, a period piece, an indie breakout, or an art-house gem. It isn’t even really a deeply issue-oriented film. It didn’t generate it much chatter, and it was so under seen that it’s being rereleased. So it’s not that I didn’t enjoy the film — I very much did. But it does seem like a weird fit for a Best Picture nod.