MOVIE REVIEW
Michael Clayton: Not the Real Thing, But Entertaining
George Clooney tells Tom Wilkinson that if he wants to
keep his bar license, he better stay on his meds.
If lawyers were really as powerful and influential as depicted in the movies, then everyone would be a lawyer, or no one would be. By the end of the current release, Michael Clayton, lawyers look like Wild West gunslingers, evil cattle barons, or cowboys. In politically correct speech, the word “cowboy” has of late become a pejorative term meaning “reckless.” After viewing Michael Clayton, people may begin to think in the same terms when they hear the word “lawyer.”
Nevertheless, Michael Clayton is an enjoyable movie. I must even admit that for a moment or two, I thought I caught George Clooney acting. He was not, however, portraying a lawyer, at least not one that exists. While Michael Clayton has less in common with the real legal profession than did Judd for the Defense, it is still a movie to see.
