Now here's an interesting situation: the powerful new drama Michael Clayton was originally scheduled to open in Chicago next Friday, a week into the Chicago Film Festival, but was scheduled to play as part of the Festival on Monday, October 10 (it still is as far as I know) with first-time director Tony Gilroy in attendance. But for whatever reason, the distributor decided to give the film a limited early release in Chicago (only at River East for the first week) today, sort of undercutting the need for the Festival screening other than as a place to see Gilroy, which, having seen his exceptional film, isn't the worst thing I can think of (I actually am interviewing him while he's in town).

But enough about semantics. Plain and simple, George Clooney has never been better. The soul of his character, a law firm "fixer"--a lawyer who is called onto a difficult case and does everything inside and outside the law to shut down a seemingly unwinnable lawsuit against a client of the corporate law firm--is tarnished and tattered. Typically he is only ever called in for the firm's biggest cases, usually by its leader Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack, in another searing performance). But that Michael Clayton is not on display in this film; we only hear about him from other and typically in the past tense. Clayton today is worn out and broken down, probably on the verge of calling his career finished until he gets a call that a good friend has lost his mind.

Arthur Edens (the genius Tom Wilkinson) openly and on camera during a deposition torpedoes the firm's biggest client, U/North, in probably the biggest case the firm has ever had. He raves like a lunatic and even strips off his closes, seemingly out of guilt for the damage that has been done to one young woman he has fixated on, whose family is part of a massive class action suit against U/North. Clayton, who we find out early has issues with gambling on top of everything else, is asked to step in and see just how bad Edens has damaged the client. As good as these two actors are, my favorite character in Michael Clayton is U/North's in-house council Karen Crowder, played as a freaky, self-loathing, out-of-her-element pawn by the always-riveting Tilda Swinton. It's clear that writer-director Tony Gilroy, making his debut behind the camera here, loves to watch Swinton as she poses in front of mirrors, checking out the underarm sweat stains on her blouse. She is not some polished ice queen to us; she's is all-too human, and we know she will make mistakes that will hurt many people.

Gilroy is a long-time Hollywood screenwriter, who has had a hand in scripting all this Jason Bourne films, as well as such works as Dolores Claibourne, Proof of Life, Armageddon, and The Devil's Advocate. So it's actually shocking to me how confident and subtle the man is behind the camera. Sure, part of that is his remarkable cast, but there are many choices Gilroy makes that are all him. There's a shot at the end of the film that is just Clooney sitting in the back of car, and Gilroy hold the camera on him as the final credits roll. Clooney doesn't speak or do anything extraordinary, but we are riveted to his face, knowing full well the decompression that is going on in his mind.

I don't want to go into too much more details about this film. There aren't any earth-shattering twists with the plot, just solid story construction, a really riveting series of events, and some of the best acting I've seen all year. In the last five years, with the exception of the Danny Ocean films, George Clooney has focused less on movie star roles and more on inhabiting some of the greatest characters he's ever played. His work as Michael Clayton is by far the best acting Clooney has ever done. There's a confrontation he has with Swinton toward the end of the film that will knock you on your ass. He lets her know she made a bad call regarding him, and he's so proud of himself for besting her that he can't help but gloat. The honesty in the scene is unheard of, especially when he finally just spits out "You are fucked" right in her face. In a perfect world, that would be his Oscar clip.

Michael Clayton is a complex and dense work that holds you in its grip while you navigate its treacherous waters. There are things that happen in this film that I'm still rolling around in my head even though I saw the film originally a month and a half ago. Clooney, Wilkinson, and especially Swinton give career-best performances, but the real hero of the day is Tony Gilroy, who needs to get behind the camera again very soon and show us this wasn't a fluke. Or maybe he should never make another movie again, and always leave us wanting more. Either way, Michael Clayton is falls into the must-see category, and if you get a chance to see it during the festival with Gilroy on hand, take advantage.

-Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com