The presence of Sydney Pollack – albeit in an acting role – is a strong indicator of the tone of Michael Clayton, a thriller that can’t quite be called political (bureaucratical perhaps?) but one that has many of the traits of Pollack’s own directorial effort, The Interpreter .

Revolving around the world of corporate litigation, Michael Clayton – played by George Clooney - is a man slowly falling into the web of corruption that has been his livelihood for a lifetime. It’s apt that the film should adopt the protagonist’s full name as its title thanks to a script as concerned with the emotions of the victims/protagonist as the plots of the villains.

All the performances are a cut above standard thriller standards, thanks surely to weighty executive producing power from Clooney and his Section Eight partner Steven Soderbergh. Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and the fore-mentioned Pollack, bring a heft of believability to their supporting roles thankfully reek more of artistic integrity than star-power.

If technical jargon drums fear’s theme tune on your eardrums you needn’t fret. One of Michael Clayton’s strengths is its simplicity, fleshing out its slightly non-linear dance across the screen with scenes as confident in their performances as their industry lingo.

Michael Clayton, as new-school in its talent and contemporary in its subject matter, is one of the most European thrillers to come out of American cinema for some time. Nothing is played for gratuity, nothing is by the numbers and nothing is wasted. In a genre progressively over-saturated by so-so Iraq-war thrillers, Michael Clayton is just the man for the job.

Discuss this article on our Forum.