Michael Clayton

The film Michael Clayton tells the story of a huge corporation's attempts to win a case in which they have been accused of using toxic chemicals to fertilize crops that have led to major health problems in surrounding communities. The corporation is a client of an enormous law firm whose key lawyer, Arthur Edens, on the case has a nervous breakdown and switches sides after a realizing the corporation's guilt. The protagonist of the film, Michael Clayton, is an attorney who is charged with dealing with Edens' mess and reassuring UNorth that everything is fine. Once UNorth becomes aware of the real situation, the film quickens its pace and mainly focuses on UNorth chasing Edens and eventually Clayton around the city.
As I mentioned in class the other day, the film seems to be in the same vein as Erin Brockovich but focuses on the other side of the law suit. Not to say that Michael Clayton does not offer an interesting perspective on such a case (I actually think MC's viewpoint is a little more interesting), but it seems that environmental lawsuits are becoming something of their own genre. This can be seen as a positive thing as these films make audiences think about pollution. It also is an indication that people are becoming more and more concerned with environmental issues.
Another subject we discussed a bit in yesterday's class that I would like to expand on is Karen Crowder's character. The director's or screenwriter's (or whoever it is) choice to make “the bad guy” a woman was a very smart choice. This is because it makes the audience less able to put her character into the category of the corrupt and powerful businessman and thus makes her harder to dismiss as wholly evil and separate from ourselves. Corporations after all are made up of normal people. The question is how and why do people who make it to the top become so obsessed and desperate to save their company that they are willing to commit such atrocious acts? Understanding this psychology behind this process would probably help us fight against it and bring us a step closer to solving the environmental crisis. Maybe the next Michael Clayton or Erin Brockovich will be about Karen Crowder.