It's the kind of morally shady but well-paying work Clayton's always done but this time he's got an added wrinkle to deal with in the form of his long-term business partner, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), having a breakdown over what he considers to be a case he's putting together to take down U-North and prove they've been committing. Now Michael has to deal with Arthur's erratic behavior too, something he finds to be aggravating, as does the general counsel of U-North, Karne Crowder (Tilda Swinton), who orders for Arthur to be taken care of in any manner necessary that will keep him quiet. This may have started out as just another job for Michael Clayton but it sure as hell isn't going to end in a conventional way for him, that's for sure.
There's plenty of corruption going on in Michael Clayton, but the specific kind of corruption it's interested in exploring regards those who are complicit in helping corruption keep on chugging and hurting people, the kind of individuals who aren't engaging in the explicit practice of corruption itself but will turn a blind eye to it or even help it get off consequence-free if charges are ever pressed. These are important people in the process of allowing the rich and the powerful to do whatever they want and one of those important people just happens to be the lead character of Michael Clayton, a guy whose plenty familiar with the world of shady dealings and even shadier clients.
Playing this guy is George Clooney, a fella who seems to have made sure the vast majority of his roles he's taken on in the past decade (sans the occasional Monuments Men) or so juxtaposes his classic movie star handsomeness and charisma with seedier and more humanly flawed characters. No wonder he keeps playing these types of individuals given how frequently he excels with these types of people, that's why The Coen Brothers keep having him play super entertaining bumbling blowhards. For Michael Clayton, Clooney channels that heavily experienced and internally damaged persona that would suit him so well in one of my favorite roles of his, that of the protagonist in Up In The Air and it's a persona that suits this Clayton character quite well.
Clooney gives Clayton this constantly aloof personality that ensures he's distant from everybody in his life, whether it's his partner Arthur or his addiction-riddled brother. All he cares about is his morally dubious cases, but what happens when one of those cases begins to heavily impact him on a personal level/ That's the quandary Tony Gilroy's script grapples with in a mighty entertaining fashion that doesn't hold back on examining the grim lengths U-North will go to keep their misdeeds under wraps. Gilroy's writing, in contrast to the more blunt and to the point dialogue seen in his Bourne movies, seems to be channeling the works of Aaron Sorkin, though like the similarly Sorkin-influenced dialogue in last years entertaining Miss Sloane, it's able to create its own personality while clearly evoking certain ticks and patterns found in Sorkin's work.
Tony Gilroy also fares quite well as a director as he shoots the numerous dialogue-heavy sequences in a riveting manner and also commands strong performances out of the various members of the cast, especially Tom Wilkinson as Arthur which is a performance that lends real layers to that age-old archetype of the crackpot who is more in the right than anyone can imagine. Lord knows why Gilroy hasn't gotten more directorial work in the last decade (though he did get to, reportedly, helm the reshoots on Rogue One), but if Michael Clayton and its thrilling dive into seedy clean-up work is any indication, it's clear Gilroy is very much a talented filmmaker with a keen knack for stirring up notable performances and memorable dialogue in equal measure.
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