A few weeks ago I was wondering what ever happened to the suspense thriller. Wonder no more.
Michael Clayton is a legal Mr Fix-it for a law firm whose services are farmed out to whatever law firm requires them. His job is to find solutions for whatever tight legal difficulty they find them selves in, and he is very good at his job.
The movie follows several days in his life where he is faced with more than typical challenges.
At 2 hours this movie is just the right length with a precise balance of humour, suspense and plot, no so long to get stodgy but just long enough to explore the intracies of the plot without giving anything away. It is plot driven and executes the plot flawlessly with a very well crafted screen play.
The cinematography, score, casting and acting all come together brilliantly to make this one of the great modern suspense thrillers in the Hitchcock tradition.
One viewing is not enough and I will be going back for a second bite. This has become one of my rare five star movies.