What a great movie. Some how, Sydney Pollack managed to weave a tale of deception, redemption, and dirty dirty agri-corruption into an accessible tale. In 119 minutes, I learned more about every character and their motivations than most films I have seen this year.
I enjoyed this film because of its plot and how the story was told. Michael Clayton is about an in-house fixer in a giant New York law firm. The story starts off with Clayton being tasked to reign in a partner who went crazy after he realizes the client he is defending was indeed culpable in a toxic-pollution class-action. The tale then unfolds with Clayton having to decide between helping this partner bring the client to justice, or looking the other way in exchange for a solution to his own financial problems.
The film does a great job in portraying the stress and realities of the characters who are involved. The movie not an apology for corporate malfeasance. Instead it gives a nuanced look at why we do the evil things we do, and how we react to the realities in front of us. Go see it.
