Michael Clayton (George Clooney) works for a high-powered law firm as a ‘fixer’. Where there’s trouble, Clayton is the man they send to sort out the mess. When old friend and top attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) suffers a mental breakdown, Clayton is immediately dispatched. The protracted case Edens has been involved in, defending one of the firm’s biggest clients, makes Clayton reassess his principles and life as he comes across high-level corruption.

I quite like the way this movie doesn’t serve everything to the audience on a platter. Not much of the story is given over without a bit of thought involved. But, having said that the opening thirty minutes or so can leave you wondering just what it is that you’re supposed to be focusing on. It’s almost as if director Tony Gilroy is being deliberately obscure.

Michael Clayton is billed as a thriller but I don’t think it quite hits the mark. It’s a slow paced movie that doesn’t really build up a sense of drama or suspense; certainly you’re not on the edge of your seat from a constant thrill ride. It just plays out the story without resorting to mindless plot twists or unnecessary action scenes. There is a sense that this is a real story being told to the audience, which is a credit to Gilroy’s direction and script.

The acting is superb, Tilda Swinton won the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar, and rightly so. She portrays Karen Crowder, a somewhat naïve corporate high-flyer who is willing to sell her soul to the company at any price. Tom Wilkinson is brilliant as the crazed and driven Edens. And, it was nice to see Clooney being able to shed his star charisma for a role that gave him the chance to act out a guy who is not that likeable.

The only problem is that the movie makes you engage your brain in the first half an hour, and because you’re not letting the story wash over you, you being to question some of what’s being portrayed. At least that’s how it was with me. We’re shown how ruthless and efficient a couple of murdering thugs can be, but for their next hit they choose the most over the top way to dispose of their target. Then, it seemed odd that for such a smart and savvy lawyer Clayton would think he would be able to fool a police forensic team in an absurd way.

I guess my biggest gripe with the story is that it’s a moral tale. We’re supposed to leave thinking that corruption is bad and money should not motivate us to do the wrong thing. But the movie never gives us the example that’s needed. There is a scene where Clayton is literally weighing up his options in both hands, but he ends up taking both! He doesn’t actually make the moral decision, he just cleans the board with everything on offer.

In the end I think it was a little slow paced for my tastes and almost too obscure at times. I could have done with more tension and thrills along the way. It’s definitely worth watching for the performances of Swinton and Wilkinson, but I think it missed the chance to be compelling.