The Film Michael Clayton by Tony Gilroy - Movie Review Example

Michael Clayton In the film “Michael Clayton” the slow, continuous editing, coupled with the mise-en-scene of expansive corporate wealth help to emphasize the underlying corruption and rot of the legal world under its rich and glitzy exterior. The film is a thriller, however the Director has chosen to bring about a resolution to the crises generated throughout the story largely through the use of skilful dialogue and judicious editing and filming of scenes. The theme of the film is the underlying role of wealth in misrepresenting the cause of justice. The Director adds his personal stamp to the film by choosing to actively engage the viewer’s intelligence and force him/her to make inferences – not necessarily through tense, action sequences but rather through the reactions of his characters, who are live, legal embodiments of the modern day legal complexities and parody of justice due to the element of corporate wealth. It is the wealth factor that is the prime mover in this film although it forms the underlying element rather than being directly revealed. This particular scene is the climax of the film. The Director has set up the mystery slowly as the film unfolds, revealing bits and pieces at a time. The major character of Clayton has moved through the film with a weary ennui that characterizes the state of the legal profession. The character of Tilda Swinton speaks volumes for the outward calm but inner scheming of legal business. By the time the audience has arrived at this scene, it can intelligently infer what the climax will be – if it has been paying attention to the unspoken cues the Director provides through the mise-en-scene elements. The set where this scene takes place is a case in point. It is largely bare and austere, yet screams understated wealth in the ornate chandelier on the roof, the Persian carpets scattered at strategic locations, the French windows and the polished wood paneling. The vast expanse of area bare of furniture and the muted colors used throughout the set, except for the chandelier, epitomizes the apparent sobriety of legal professionals operating amidst great wealth. It also symbolizes the vast vacuum in which the main character finds himself – a wealthy prison he seeks desperately to escape from. The scene begins with Tilda Swinton entering the vast set through a large hall. The Director chooses to film her progress through intermittent cuts and blocking, as the intervening pillars block the character from the view of the audience, visually suggesting that she has something to hide. A single tracking shot follows her progress into the main set where the confrontation with the Clayton character will take place. The editing aids the build up of suspense, the tracking camera stays on Swinton (Shot 2), yet it stops suddenly, creating tight tension as the audience is made to become aware, as the character becomes aware, of another presence. The camera cuts quickly to Clayton, framed against a vast expanse of paneling. The sense of tension and underlying desperation is conveyed through a series of alternating mid-close two shots of Clayton and Swinton. As opposed to the slow tracking shots thus far, shots 10 to 12 are fast cuts, forming a sequence of shots that unravels the mystery of who killed Arthur and what is at stake. The tension is highlighted through the fast cuts and rapidly switching reverse medium close shots. The underlying drama thus unfolds in groups of shots. This entire sequence of mid close shots is filmed via reverse medium close shots, visually highlighting the interdependence of the characters. Clayton dependent on Swinton to provide his ticket to freedom and escape from the endless, wealth-laden, legal maze, while Switnon is dependent on Clayton to ensure that the lid on her schemes is not blown off. It is the collusion of shots that heightens the meaning, the climax unfolds through these groups of shots with tense dialogues. The choice of fast cuts in this group of shots serves to stretch tension. The close up shots of Swinton reveal her changing emotions by moving closer and closer with each subsequent close up, yet always over Clayton’s shoulder. The editing-in of the shot of the executive serves to heighten the tension and the impression of a simmering situation that is about to blow its lid sky high. The Director takes a close up shot of Swinton’s face turning around and looking at the executive; a grimace of a smile appears on her face, which accurately reveals her emotional state. Another series of close shots of Clayton and Swinton follows, as the executive moves towards them. The brief editing of the executive’s interference into this scene heightens the sense of urgency. The denouement is a brilliant and masterful shot of the Clayton character repeating three times – “You’re fucked.” With each successive time he says it, the growing realization of the Swinton character is heightened with the repeating “what?” and then “you don’t want the money?” Dialogue is used very effectively at this point to reveal the critical punch. A few seconds later, as the Clayton character walks away in a continuous shot that moves from mid range to a long shot, the character of Swinton sinks to her knees, as if she is going to curl up into a foetal position; as if she has been literally punched. The character of Clayton is shown walking away as the executive calls to the officers to arrest him. The sense of continuous movement keeps flowing, Clayton moves one way, the police officers move in the other, towards Swinton and the executive, graphically pointing out who the real criminals are. The character of Clayton walking away is at the foreground of the set, the others in the background, growing smaller as he moves further away from them.(Shot 53). The chandelier is as bright as ever, but there is now an abundance of the color black in the set as the officers in their uniforms surround the character of Swinton. But the filming of the character of Clayton with his back to them epitomizes his walking away from that world. He moves slowly, yet confidently, hesitant to believe, the tension still etched into his face. After the character of Clayton hands over the evidence to his brother and has a brief conversation with him, the tracking shot continues. The image of the brother becomes blurred as he moves out of focus, visually representing the distancing of the main character from the tableau unfolding behind him. The scene ends in the same way it began, with the camera tracking a character in a long shot, walking away rather than coming in. The editing at this point becomes slow again, visually portraying the slow release of the protagonist from the dilemma he has faced so far. The glitzy set is the background, yet it grows smaller and smaller as the character walks away, with the camera staying on him in a continuous shot (Shot 54). As the character gets on the escalator, the camera switches to a top shot. This appears to visually suggest that the tension of the character has dissipated, there is no need to close on him; rather he is a small cog in the legal machine, now finding his way wearily and slowly out of it. The enormous legal machine chugs on endlessly, much as the escalator is doing, going endlessly around in circles. But the perspective of the character has changed, he is no longer in this world and this top shot visually represents this distancing. In this shot, time extends, the escalator keeps moving after the character has left it and disappeared off screen, leaving the audience to infer the state of the main character’s emotions of slow release from his crises. It is a sense of relief that is slowly realized. As the character of Clayton travels in the taxi, the choice of mid close shots reveals the inner tension which still exists, it is only when the film’s credits have almost stopped rolling that the character smiles and the audience realizes with him, that it is finally over and there are no more surprises that will be sprung. Prior to this, when the Clayton character enters the foyer, the director chooses to use low lighting. The set is yet again one that screams understated wealth, yet the lighting highlights the murky elements that underlie this world. As the character steps out into the street, it is bright and sunny, visually representing the character’s release from the dark, murky world. The costumes used in this scene further highlight the difference between the legal world and the outside world. Clayton, Swinton and the executive are dressed in high power, expensive, executive suits, - a subtle reminder of the lack of color and warmth, and an accentuation of the underlying power in the legal profession. The only character not dressed in black in this scene is the policeman brother of Clayton, who wears a light colored coat and appears to visually symbolize the element from the outer world that has entered this murky, dark world to clean it up. The lighting enhances the emotional tension throughout. While the shot begins with Swinton’s face hidden from view and her image blocked by the pillars, there are moments within the tense interchange with Clayton when she moves out of the frame, or the lighting on her face becomes subtly darker, suggesting again and again, the hidden motif of something to hide. As opposed to this, the character of Clayton is well lit throughout, except as he passes through the murky foyer at the end of the scene. The scene in the taxi is a long, continuous shot that stays framed on Clayton’s face as the credits keep rolling. There is an extension of time in this scene, the minutes appear to stretch on and on with the character doing nothing but sitting in the taxi, while far in the background, there is busy movement of people and traffic. Here again, the character’s emergence from the glitzy, legal world is emphasized; he is traveling in an ordinary New York cab which is as far removed from the wealth ridden set he has just left behind. The extending of time in this concluding shot helps to heighten the emotions of the character, and his slow realization of his release from that corrupt, dark world into the bright world of ordinary people. In conclusion, it may be noted how the director has skillfully integrated the background sets with dialogues and grouping of shots to highlight the actual nature of the legal profession. It is the corruption in the legal world that is the main theme of the film, but the director chooses to highlight this through the visual element rather than explicitly stating the greed of the characters. Even Clayton’s demand for 10 million dollars is not what it seems, it only serves to highlight the extent to which the legal fraternity will sink to protect its shady dealings from view. It is just a part of the plot elements to heighten this underlying greed without explicitly demonstrating it. Read More