Haven't watched this since college and I'd somehow forgotten every detail of it since. Spent years nodding blindly when people mentioned Michael Clayton with reverence, and now I'm happy to announce I can nod confidently while continuing to add nothing to the conversation. Movie rocks. Not sure how I blocked all memory of Arthur's final scene, because it's one of the most haunting scenes of its kind that I've ever watched. Possibly Clooney's finest hour. He weaponizes his charisma and oozes a strangely palatable, legal-specific smarm up top until it slowly withers away, leaving a desperate and desolate man powered only by his self-loathing. Even in his triumphant final moment, he unravels Karen in the same breath that he unravels his own career. Love that Tony Gilroy takes a moment where any other character would drop a snappy gotcha line and simply gives us "You're fucked."Kind of wild this is Tilda's only Oscar nomination, and even wilder that she won. Not like she isn't fantastic, but it's such a quiet performance. What'd they even show in the ceremony, a photo of her with sweaty pits? A blurry background shot of Tilda kneeling to the ground? King shit, really.
