Great Scene: “Michael Clayton”

Clayton confronts Crowder, then rides alone with his thoughts.

The 2007 movie Michael Clayton, written and directed by Tony Gilroy is one of the finest dramas in the last 20 years.

Here is the IMDB plot summary:

A law firm brings in its “fixer” to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.

It’s actually two scenes, but as continuous action, they play as one. In the first part, Clayton (George Clooney) confronts Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) about information he has gathered related to the legal case and Crowder’s role in the death of Clayton’s longtime friend and associate Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson):

Then this:

This is a brilliant movie capped off by a powerful ending. The first part is almost all dialogue, the confrontation between Clayton and Crowder. The second part is almost zero dialogue, just a locked shot onto Clayton’s face as the cab drives and drives while credits roll. In…