King George rules in excellent thriller. George Clooney can do no wrong; I get the feeling that with one performance he could even turn Fair City in to The Sopranos. He has the ability (or maybe its the luxury of being a star) to pick the right character in the right movie and turn it in to a memorable movie. This role is possibly the closest he has come to reprising the role of Dr. Ross, which of course made him famous while in ER. Its the part of the loveable but at the same time sad guy striving to do the right thing. But its not Clooney alone that delivers, the supporting cast is fantastic also especially the two Brits Colm Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton. The film itself deals with the title character Michael Clayton (Clooney) who, basically, cleans up the mess made by a Large New York law firm. The case this time involves a large corporation who wants to make a multi dollar law suit disappear. Nothing new there you say but the twist comes in the form of Claytons colleague Arthur Edens (Wilkinson) who suffers a breakdown and attempts to sabotage the case. While the description doesnt sound riveting believe the movie is. The large corporation is, of course, evil and wants this case to disappear at any cost forcing Clayton to ask himself some difficult questions. This is a wonderful movie and if you cant catch it in the cinema I implore you to seek it out when it hits the DVD shelves.
Titanic was the straw that broke the camels back for me with the Oscars. The fact that something so poorly written and acted could sweep the Oscars showed just what a farce this spectacle has become. So when I saw that “No Country…” had received 8 nominations it really did little to stir my interest. However, when I see “A Coen Brothers Film” on a movie poster then my interest is hightened to titanic (sorry!) proportions. This is a real return to power for the Coens, now that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy their recent movies but this is their best work since “Fargo”. From the very first minute the story is off giving you no chance to get comfortable. The story sounds simple enough – a drug trade goes wrong and an innocent passer by collects the left over loot but a hired killer wants it back – but believe me it’s anything from straight forward. It twists and turns and has you eagerly anticipating for the next scene. The story gives an illusion of plodding along while all the time moving briskly. The acting is top class from everyone involved but the two stand outs are undoubtadely Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. The character of Chigurh played by Bardem has all the screen menace of Hannibal and has you cautiously looking over your shoulder as soon as you leave the cinema. The direction and script (almost word for word and in the same order as the Cormac McCarthy book) from the Coens is handled with the same competence as Chigurh killing one of his vitims. It’s right up there with their best work, “Blood Simple”, “Millers Crossing” and “Fargo”. Although I, like everyone else, has yet to see “There Will Be Blood”, this film doing well at the Oscars might return some of it’s long since lost respect.
