Can I just thoroughly recommend "Michael Clayton" - a beautifully written, acted and filmed movie which seems to be passing through cinemas without much comment. Don't get put off by the fact it has George Clooney in it - its a real solid old fashioned thriller. Admittedly with all the legal jargon I didn't understand what was going on all the time, but maybe sometimes its better just to be swept along by classy filmmaking and try to put things together later, over a beer?

I generally agree, though have to wonder, what was the point of the flash back structure? When the scene (I won't spoil it) repeats later it drains all the tension out of what would otherwise be a fairly tense scene as you know the outcome.

Great film. I love the very shallow DOF throughout. The blurry backgrounds
I thought was very motivated towards the blurriness of the "legaleze".

I loved the slower editorial pacing. Long establishing shots reminded me of "classic" films from the 70's such as the "Parallax View"(1974).

The tension came from the wonderful acting and not a bunch of hipster fast cutting. I thought Clooney was remarkable with his "non verbal" cues, eyes shifting, and even his breathing getting heavy showing stress caught my eye.
This is probably his best acting and will be remembered as such.

Anyone interested in classic cinema techniques should see this on the big screen. This may end up being the last batch of major release films using classic techniques that we'll see.