Michael Clayton is about the character (George Clooney) of the same name. Clayton is a janitor. He cleans up the legal troubles of his high profile clients.
There are some great performances here. Everyone does a great job with their characters. This is great because you’re just drawn into this world. People speak in halve truths and just hint at what’s going on. For the first half, you’re in discovery, finding all the pieces. As the puzzle starts coming together, there’s that sudden revelation when it all just kind of fits. But it’s not sudden at all. Instead, it just unravels beautifully. Although there isn’t a lot of action, there’s plenty of suspense.
The only weakness, if you can call it that, is the beginning. It takes a bit to get into the main plot and while it’s unraveling, there is the slightest sense of not knowing what’s going on. But that just adds to the mystery and the suspense. You learn to distrust the things people say and pay more attention to what they do and what’s happening. It’s masterful.
If you’re into strong characters and deep thrillers, this is for you. If you’re all about guns ablazing, it may be a little slow for you, but I would still give it a shot.
The Great Debaters is about a debate team striving for gold in the Jim Crow south.
I’m not a racist person, and being a minority definitely helps me empathize about being discriminated against. But there’s no way that I could say I understood what it was like to be black and living in the south during the Jim Crow laws. There’s this scene early on when Dr. James Farmer, Sr. (Forest Whitaker), a preacher and dean of a black college, is driving with his family, hits and kills a pig. The pig farmer comes out with his buddy and the tension just skyrockets. You don’t know anything about these two people, but you know where they are and the time they’re in and that’s enough. The threat is compounded when one of the white men draws a gun. Anything can happen and you realize that this was the terror that these people were living under. And farmer, educated, respected, powerful (in his context) becomes nothing when come face to face with the white man.
Who would’ve thought a movie about debaters would be this interesting? Even the debating parts are interesting. But Denzel Washington, in his directorial debut, does the right thing and doesn’t focus too much on the debate aspects. The third act when they focus more on the debates, is probably the weakest point. Yes, he ties in a lot of stuff that happened before, but the focus is now on the debate. In a similar fashion to sports movies, you know who’s going to win. You want them to win!
There’s tremendous depth to The Great Debaters. It’s a shame that the title isn’t more interesting because there’s a beautiful gem under that plain title.
Dustin Hoffman’s big break. Even if you know what’s going to happen, there’s something about Dustin’s drive to get the girl that still makes my palms sweat a little. Sometimes funny, sometimes tender, the film is near perfect. Sure, it looks a little dated, but everything else is still in pristine condition.
Fargo is about a man who schemes to have his wife kidnapped so he can scam his father out of some money. As the film progresses, things start spiraling out of control and people start dying.
The pacing is just right, evoking the emptiness of winter in Minnesota and the simple lives that these characters live. The acting is superb and you want the characters to “succeed” in their own way. It’s exciting and sometimes brutal, but it’s never dull. And it won’t be long before you start wondering what will happen next.
