Michael Clayton

With a plot that plods along at the speed of a snail, George Clooney's newest film "Michael Clayton" was a major disappointment.

Clooney stars as Michael Clayton, a self-described "janitor" for his major Manhattan law firm. He cleans up the messes that their clients get into. Clayton doesn't necessarily like his job, but he needs it in order to have time with his son who lives with Clayton's ex-wife, to pay off his past gambling debts, and to survive the failure of the restaurant that he and his brother opened. Yes, this is a pretty heavy movie.

The firm, in the midst of a merger with a British company, has spent years defending a corporation that has knowingly allowed people to be poisoned by pesticides used at the massive farming operations. One of the firm's partners eventually snaps and threatens to uncover the entire conspiracy. As Clayton works to keep this guy, one of his mentors, quiet, he slowly -- and I do mean slowly -- uncovers the whole story. Trying to stop him is the chief counsel for the corporation (Tilda Swinton) and her thugs who stop at nothing to accomplish their task.

I can't call this a "thriller" as there really is only one or two thrills, both of which come at the very end of the film. The character development, along with the performances, are all excellent and redeem the pacing of this tale. Maybe I've been dumbed-down by the summer movies, but this one was too heavy and too slow for my liking. It's not a good sign when a two-hour movie feels like four. I give it a C.

"Michael Clayton" is rated R with a running time of 120 minutes.