Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading is not a good film. Despite being directed by the Oscar winning Coen brothers. Despite starring 3 Oscar winning actors in Clooney, Swinton and McDormund. Despite starring Oscar nominated actors in Malkovich and Pitt, Burn After Reading is not a good film.

This is ill-conceived, badly executed and a complete waste of everyone's considerable talents. You almost wonder whether the Coens decided to see if they could dupe audiences into liking something so awful. It plays as if they wrote it on the back of a napkin in a bar one evening - possibly whilst drunkenly celebrating last year's deserved Oscar success. No idea is dismissed as too stupid. No joke is seen as too unfunny. No plot thread is left tied up. What we have is a mish-mash of semi-formed ideas all thrown together with the unifying theme of isn't it funny when these great actors play idiots. Well, frankly, no it isn't.

I have no problem with their "lighter" stuff. After last year's outstanding No Country for Old Men, it was only right that they change pace dramatically, and they've had proven success with this sort of thing. O Brother went down very well, so did The Big Lebowski. For me their most successful foray into light comedy was the grossly under appreciated Intolerable Cruelty. It had a genuine wit throughout with wonderful set ups, charming performances, hilarious visual gags and terrific one liners. Everything in fact lacking in Burn After Reading.

This may get a pass or even a recommendation based on the talent involved but don't be fooled by anyone that tells you this is anything better than average. For my money it is significantly worse. The Coens have followed up their very best film with their very worst*. A real shame.

C-


*Worth pointing out I've seen all their films except The Ladykillers which got slated so may in fact be worse than this. If I'm completely honest I also probably just preferred Fargo to No Country for Old Men.

Movie Years Meltdown

Huge problem with the actors this year. I still reckon there's at least 10 awards worthy films to be seen: including, and not restricted to, American Gangster, Sweeny Todd, Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, The Assassination of Jesse James.., There Will Be Blood and Charlie Wilson's War.

Trouble is I'm struggling badly to find any room on my top 5 actors. It's currently a resolute 8 and I really don't like the idea of bumping any of them. 3, and maybe even more, of these would have walked into my top 5 in many other years.

George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Chris Cooper - Breach
James McAvoy - Atonement
Russell Crowe - 3:10 to Yuma
Gordon Pinsent - Away from Her
Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Superbad
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - The Lookout

Michael Clayton

This hotly anticipated (at least by me) legal thriller from debutant Tony Gilory, the writer of the Bourne films, pitches 3 actors with 5 Movie Years nominations between them. 3 of those are for the brilliant Tom Wilkinson, who costars in this as the corporate lawyer who goes off his meds and starts having a nervous breakdown. This is not good news for the company that he's representing, UNorth, headed by Tilda Swinton, who are in the middle of a 6 year, 3 billion dollar lawsuit, and probably even worse news for the law firm Wilkinson works for, whose 9 million that UNorth owe is now in jeopardy, not to mention a possible merger with a London firm and all credibility in their own country.

The law firm needs someone to save the day and that someone is Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney, the business's "fixer". Clooney's Clayton is a very interesting character, someone entrusted with fixing very delicate, often high profile situations, but a guy who's own life seems to be in need of fixing itself. He owes 80,000 to people he can't pay after a failed restaurant venture, he's separated from his wife and has a gambling problem that at least partly explains his cashflow troubles. It's refreshing to see a 'hero' as troubled, although this wont be the first time in a review this year that I have praised the efforts of the writers of The Good Shepherd, Zodiac and Breach, who have also brought us screen characters that are layered and interesting. It's been a great year for intelligent thrillers and this continues that pleasing trend.

Clooney is wonderful and totally convincing as Clayton. He enjoys several great scenes throughout the film, 2 notable ones with Wilkinson, and 1 with Swinton that is as satisfying a scene as you'll see all year. The credits roll over a fixed shot of Clooney in a cab and holds on Clooney for a good 3 or 4 minutes. Even here, doing so little, Clooney is totally magnetic as a screen presence that despite the credits rolling on a packed Saturday night, not one person left the theatre until we faded to black.

Wilkinson and Swinton provide more than able support. If I did have a criticism, I'd say it was perhaps too short. At a fraction under 2 hours, I think we could have spent another 20 minutes with these characters, particularly the two Brits who don't get as much screen time as I'd have liked. But it is hard to argue with Gilroy's decision to spend nearly every second with Clooney. It's an intelligent script and wonderfully directed debut effort, which is certainly worth your time and money.

A-

George Clooney

In honour of the wonder that is George Clooney, whose new film, Michael Clayton, opens this Friday, I present to you a look at his career to date. Now everyone knows Clooney is impossibly handsome, and as Tilda Swinton, his Michael Clayton co-star put it at last night's premiere of the film in New York, "his very existence is a joke on humanity." But Clooney can act God damn it and I've been a fan since the early days of Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Well maybe not quite that early, but then who was? I have however been a fan since 1994, when a great new medical drama debuted on our screens and Dr Doug Ross was born. Here's a career retrospective:

ER: Dr Doug Ross, 1994-2000. Ross was the smooth talking, charming, ladies man who broke up marriages and bedded a whole string of women in his 4 seasons on the show. If he'd been a woman he'd of course been a slut, but he got away with it and everyone loved him. ER was brilliant back then of course, and not unwatchable as it is now. Clooney's finest hour came in the 2 part episode "The Storm", where he was just about the only character on screen for the duration. This episode proved his big break, as he (dressed in a tuxedo no less) single handedly saved a boy caught in a storm drain from drowning whilst showing off his ability to dominate the screen for 90 minutes . Gripping stuff.

From Dusk Til Dawn: Seth Gecko, 1996. Clooney smartly ditched his ER persona and took on the role of a badass in the Tarantino penned comedy horror for his first post ER role. Clooney showed a little range playing a bank robbing, hostage taking murderer, albeit one with a little more charm than your average bank robbing, hostage taking murderer. The film doesn't quite succeed despite some clever moments and an unbelievably hot dance from Selma Hayek, but Clooney convinces as the bad guy.

One Fine Day: Jack Taylor, 1996 Back on more familiar territory Clooney stars in his first romantic comedy opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. The two were perfectly cast in this underrated film. Okay it's a bit syrupy - the tag line, "She was having a perfectly bad day... Then he came along and spoiled it," probably makes you want to throw up, but there's plenty of chemistry between the two leads and the film definitely has charm.

Batman and Robin: Batman/Bruce Wayne, 1997. Uh-oh. Just when things were going so well. Clooney tried to kill his career in this ill-advised 4th installment of the Batman franchise (and last, until a complete recent overhaul by Christopher Nolan). I've not seen it. I don't want to. I can't imagine that Clooney pulls it off very well. Totally miscast methinks. Thank goodness the public forgave him.

The Peacemaker: Lt Colonel Thomas Dove, 1997. Clooney reteams with Mimi Leader, who directed him in ER, for this action thriller that was short on action and lacking thrills. Chemistry trouble with his costar Nicole Kidman didn't help. It didn't make its money back at the US box Office, taking in just $40 million, although by the time overseas receipts and DVD profits were totalled up it probably didn't lose much. Not what he needed after Batman though.

Out of Sight: Jack Foley, 1998. No we're talking. Steven Soderbergh's classy crime/romance drama found Clooney back in more familiar territory as a guy who robbed banks armed only with an abundance of charm and devastating good looks. Jennifer Lopez played the US Marshall out to capture him and of course they fall in love and she can't quite bring herself to bring him in. Clooney found himself a great director this time around and the casting was spot on: you can't imagine anyone pulling off this particular role as well as Clooney. Batman and Robin was now forgotten.

Three Kings: Maj. Archie Gates, 1999. Small roles in South Park Bigger, Longer Uncut, and The Thin Red Line notwithstanding, Clooney followed Out of Sight with another major critical success. Alleged clashes on set with the director signalled trouble but it wasn't to be as this is a great film, that is well worth watching. Clooney plays one of 4 soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover a group of Iraqi civilians who desperately need their help and must choose between the gold and their plight. Certainly a film I'd like to revisit again, I very much enjoyed it upon release.

O Brother Where Art Thou: Everett, 2000. This Coen brothers comedy wont be to everyone's taste, and to be perfectly honest it wasn't exactly to mine, but it again ensured Clooney was registering with critics for his delightfully madcap (but restrained) performance as Everett. Everett and two friends break free from a chain gang and are pursued by the law as they make their way home to recover some buried loot. There's a great soundtrack, and the film looks great, but I never fully became engaged with it. No discredit to Clooney though who took home a deserved Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical.

The Perfect Storm: Capt Billy Tyne, 2000. This Wolfgang Pietersen helmed movie saw Clooney break into the big leagues for the first time. Even his critically successful films had returned modest sums at the box office, with Three Kings' 60 million return the best to date (Batman took 107 million, but has to be classed as a complete failure). However, The Perfect Storm took an impressive 40 million in its opening weekend and went on to gross 180 million at the US box office alone. The audiences weren't turning up for Mark Wahlberg or John C Reilly (as good as they were) so it signalled that Clooney was A-list for the first time in his career. The film itself is most enjoyable.

Oceans 11: Danny Ocean, 2001. Soderbergh and Clooney back together again, this time with his rival for most beautiful person on the planet, according to women's glossy magazines: aka Brad Pitt. That alone was bound to have audiences breaking down the doors of theatres the world over. Clooney took on the Frank Sinatra role in this remake of the rat pack heist movie and of course it was ludicrously successful. Shame that it actually wasn't very good. Clooney of course was perfectly cast and by now has this sort of role down to a tee. But it was a little too glossy with all style no substance and featured both a fairly stupid plot and the worst accent in the history of cinema (I'm looking at you Don Cheadle).

Welcome to Collinwood (Jerzy) and Solaris (Chris Klein): both 2002. I've not seen either of and have heard mixed things. Neither was a great success with either critics or the box office.

Intolerable Cruelty: Miles, 2003. Some might say this is lesser Coen brothers. Some might say this is lesser Clooney. I say that this is terrific Coens and the best performance of Clooney's career, for which I gave him a well-deserved Movie Years nomination to boot. A brilliant comic turn in what is a sharply written and engaging comedy, Clooney teams up with Catherine Zeta Jones, who plays the revenge seeking gold-digger to Clooney's smooth, rich, womanizing lawyer. Again the casting is perfect, Clooney not only playing the suave role that he's made his own, but this time it's laced with sharp, often black, comedy. I honestly think this is one of the Coens' better films and Clooney's perfect in it.

Oceans 12: Danny Ocean, 2004. Well based on the law of diminishing returns I thought it best I skip this outing. Same goes for Ocean's 13 in 2007.

Good Night, and Good Luck: Fred Friendly, 2005. A breakthrough year with the critics once again (despite that Golden Globe nom, he'd not been nominated for anything of note in 5 years) Clooney amassed 3 Oscar nominations and 5 BAFTA nominations in the same year. In GNAGL, Clooney wrote an intelligent and gripping historical drama that showcased the considerable talents of David Strathairn as Edward R Murrow, the journalist who took it upon himself to bring down Senator McCarthy, who was leading a witch hunt against Communism. Clooney also starred as Murrow's producer but it is his screenplay and direction that are the real standouts. It's a real treat to be so convincingly transported back to 1930s America. The screenplay really is excellent.

Syriana: Bob Barnes, 2005. Clooney went 0 for 5 at that year's BAFTAs but didn't come away empty handed at the Oscars. As he collected his Best Supporting Actor award for Syriana Clooney's first exclamation on stage was "...so I guess I didn't win Best Director". Indeed he didn't, but the supporting actor award is hopefully one he treasures as it was just reward for a unbelievable year in film. Bob Barnes is a CIA agent who becomes a fall guy for an embarrassing episode in the middle east, in Stephen Ganghan's dense and engrossing thriller. It's been called Traffic but about oil (Gaghan wrote the screenplay for Traffic as well as writing and directing Syriana) but sadly the film doesn't quite live up to that promise. It's a little too dense at times and things are not particularly well connected, which I often have a problem with. If there's no connection between threads then you're basically watching 2 films concurrently, and ultimately one will be more interesting than the other. Since one story line has no bearing on the other, you just wish you could spend more time with the most interesting one. And arguably in this film it's Clooney's thread that's most engaging. It's not quite as unconnected as I make it sound, things actually do tie up reasonably satisfactorily towards the end, but once again it's Clooney that stands out in a fine cast. My colleague cites Jeffrey Wright, who is indeed great, but Oscar fell in love with Clooney at last and rewarded him with a statuette that was by now overdue.

The Good German: Jacob Geismer, 2006. One I'm yet to see. Mixed reaction again, for this 5th (of 6) films with Stephen Soderbergh. I'll get round to it soon enough.

Michael Clayton: Michael Clayton, 2007. Baz Bambigoye calls it the 'best performance of Clooney's career'. If he's even half right then we're in for a treat. It opens Friday and I'm looking forward to it already.

The Movie I'm Most Looking Forward To...

The genius that is Tom Wilkinson. Court room thriller (when was the last decent one of these?). "Best Performance of Clooney's Career". What more can you want?

I don't want to go in with too high expectations but if I was a betting man, and I am, I'd bet that this lands high in my year end awards.