When Michael Clayton first appeared on the list of Oscar nominees, all but the most seasoned film critics were lost. Michael who? Is that a movie? What? George Clooney? Wasn’t he just in Ocean’s 13?

In a nice throwback to our pre-Clayton world, a Wikipedia search for Michael Clayton automatically brings up the page for a Tampa Bay wide reciever named Michael Rashard Clayton. (In case you were wondering, he is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.)

Nabbing only Best Supporting Actress out of seven Academy Award nominations, Michael Clayton has risen from relative obscurity to be one of the most sought-after DVDs on Netflix. People are curious.

Yet another entry in the “crazy people are saner than the rest of us” genre, Michael Clayton is a pitch-perfect story of a lawyer who fixes problems. As the title character, Clooney is icy cool and effective as always. His assignment is to reel in one of the firm’s attorneys, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), who seems to be having a mental breakdown. Wilkinson is particularly effective as a harmlessly psychotic old man, right down to the fetal posture as he lies in bed and the pressured speech of his monologues. He’s crazy, all right - but what does he know?

Tilda Swinton’s award-winning performance as a corporate chief counsel is flawless; some of her actions are inexcusable, but the immense pressure placed upon her by her job almost mitigates them.

Even with all this, somehow, Michael Clayton fails to be as emotionally engaging as the subject matter promises. A Best Picture nomination was aiming too high. But for screenwriter Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Identity)’s directing debut, it’s pretty impressive. To have your first film gain such Academy praise is just the encouragement that a fledgling director needs; hopefully, we’ll see more of Gilroy in the future.

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