2007 Movies that were Better than Michael Clayton

by RoastedTomatoes

So, the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards were announced early this morning. The Best Picture Nominees are: Atonement, Juno, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Michael Clayton. In one sense, this is a very good list. The Academy usually finds a way to nominate at least one horrible film, and that seems not to have happened this year. And yet… Michael Clayton?

Now, to be clear, I liked Michael Clayton a lot more than I expected to. It’s definitely a good movie, one well worth watching if you haven’t seen it before. It’s a well-constructed thriller with the new interest in character, composition, and small odd moments that has defined the Bourne films and other films in that style.

But 2007 was an unusually good year in film. And these are advertised as the five leading contenders for the title of best film of the year. I have no objection to the other four, which seem to legitimately fit the bill. Here are some other films from 2007 that were, I think, better than Michael Clayton, in no particular order:

  1. Zodiac
  2. Ratatouille
  3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
  4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  5. Once
  6. Away from Her
  7. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
  8. Into the Wild
  9. I’m Not There
  10. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
  11. Persepolis
  12. The Darjeeling Limited
  13. Rescue Dawn
  14. The Wind that Shakes the Barley

I’m certain that I’ve missed some. If I were to engage in special pleading, I’d say that Once or Zodiac were particularly overlooked.

55 Comments

  1. I haven’t it, but given all the hype, I’m kind of surprised Sweeny Todd didn’t get a nod.

    I’m so behind in movie watching. I haven’t seen Rescue Dawn, Jesse James, , No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood or Darjeeling Limited. All of which I’ve wanted to see.

    Maybe I’ll luck out and they’ll all be available on HD-DVD. (LOL)

    Comment by Clark — January 22, 2008 @ 10:45 am

  2. I was surprised Juno was on there–not because of merit but because of “style”. I would have guessed Jesse James would have been on there.

    I forgot about Rescue Dawn. I’ll need to see that on DVD when it comes out. Quick review?

    Comment by Tim J — January 22, 2008 @ 10:59 am

  3. Once was the best movie I’ve seen in a really, really long time. It’s a shame it didn’t get more recognition than it did.

    Comment by gabby — January 22, 2008 @ 11:02 am

  4. Amen RT, although…. Before the Devil? hmm.

    Comment by Supergenius — January 22, 2008 @ 11:47 am

  5. Clark, I’m not surprised that Sweeney Todd wasn’t nominated. For one thing, it’s too dark for the Academy — even in a year that sees No Country… and There Will Be Blood nominated. For another, it’s Tim Burton, who the Academy has never loved. But a good film, even so.

    Tim J., Rescue Dawn is out now. Basically, this is Werner Herzog’s version of a patriotic American action movie. It’s based on a real incident, Dieter Dengler’s escape from a POW camp. It reflects Herzog’s long-standing preoccupations with the cruelty of nature, fundamental weaknesses of humanity, and the power of obsession to change the world. All while being exciting and even funny.

    gabby, no kidding.

    Supergenius, let’s not fight over Sidney Lumet. Surely he deserves better.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 22, 2008 @ 12:10 pm

  6. Agreed about Michael Clayton. I think Clooney has connections.

    I thought American Gangster got the Academy shaft.

    Comment by Eric Russell — January 22, 2008 @ 1:10 pm

  7. Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead was far superior to Michael Clayton. I don’t understand the positive reviews about Michael Clayton at all. It was a good movie in the sense that it held my attention the whole time, but a couple weeks later I was telling a friend about it and couldn’t even remember the name. Entirely forgetable, as was the film.

    Comment by Mephibosheth — January 22, 2008 @ 2:43 pm

  8. I heard American Gangster was good but not great. It was kind of by the numbers.

    Interesting Ratatouille didn’t get a normal best picture nod. I know Disney was pushing for it. I’m not surprised. While I really liked the movie I don’t think it was quite as fantastic as some were making out. But it should win best animated picture easily.

    The real question is whether the awards will be canceled by the writers strike. And will anyone really mind. (Come on, the times I’ve watched it the awards have been painful)

    Comment by Clark — January 22, 2008 @ 2:48 pm

  9. Animation is rarely taken seriously enough. I’m surprised that Ratatouille got 5 nominations, even if most are in minor categories. I would have been pleasantly surprised if it had gotten a Best Picture Nomination. Just as I would have been surprised if Serkis had gotten a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Two Towers. He deserved to win, which I didn’t expect would happen, but I thought they’d at least nominate him.

    Comment by a random John — January 22, 2008 @ 3:45 pm

  10. “Falling Slowly” from Once is nominated. I’m trying to imagine Glen performing it on the Oscars. All I can picture is him introducing it with some long story, most likely involving a dog and being drunk.

    Comment by Susan M — January 22, 2008 @ 4:42 pm

  11. Clark, I’m guessing the strike will be over by Oscar night.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 22, 2008 @ 4:48 pm

  12. I was a big fan of Michael Clayton and think its Oscar Nom well deserved. Actually, I liked all five of the Oscar-nominated films for Best Picture, the first time I’ve been able to say that in years. All five will probably make my personal Top Ten list.

    I also liked most of the films on your list, though I still need to see a few of them. But of those that I’ve seen, I probably wouldn’t substitue any of them for Michael Clayton. I might substitue one or two of them for Atonement.

    The Darjeeling Limited will probably end up being the worst movie I saw in 2007, which is saying a lot since I also had to sit through Alvin and the Chipmunks with my kids.

    Comment by Matt Thurston — January 22, 2008 @ 5:02 pm

  13. Matt, shame, shame. Darjeeling was a good film!

    I enjoyed Michael Clayton. But the fact was, nothing about it sticks with me. It seems like a classier version of a John Grisham film.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 22, 2008 @ 5:07 pm

  14. Some genres get little academy love. Animation does much better than comedies or action. Both of those have to do something pretty profound to get a nod. (Not that I think Tootsie deserved the praise it got - but I suppose it was making a larger political point) Both action and comedy are really, really hard to do well. But few pay attention to just how hard it is.

    Comment by Clark — January 22, 2008 @ 5:11 pm

  15. What sticks with me about Michael Clayton is that I never got a sense that he was actually good at what he does or that he was anything but lucky at the end.

    Comment by a random John — January 22, 2008 @ 5:28 pm

  16. Clark,

    On the subject of action, note that Return of the King won. It shouldn’t have. It wasn’t nearly as good as Fellowship. I think its award was for the entire trilogy rather than that particular film. Certainly doing all three films as well as they were done was an accomplishment, but RotK wasn’t so great on its own and should not have won on its own merits, especially considering the biases you mention.

    Comment by a random John — January 22, 2008 @ 5:31 pm

  17. Funny, cause Michael Clayton stayed with me for a few days after seeing it. (The other films that stayed with me days later were Into the Wild and There Will Be Blood.) For me, most films about “Corporate America” ring false for one reason or another. Either the drama is not realistic, (i.e. too dramatic), or it’s ridden with cliche. But I’ve worked with people eerily similar to the characters embodied by Clooney, Swinton, Pollack, and Wilkinson, so much so that watching these characters gave me the same thrill and/or tension (usually the latter) I used to feel during my own downtown/corporate/suit days.

    So, to me, the performances of Clooney, Swinton, Pollack, and Wilkinson, and the tight script and direction of Tony Gilroy, elevate Michael Clayton into Sydney Lumet territory.

    Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action (Travolta) feel more like classy Grisham.

    Darjeeling was a mess. The Wes Anderson who made Rushmore should sue the Wes Anderson who has been ripping him off ever since.

    So how can Enchanted get three songs nominated for Best Original Song, but Once only get one, and Into the Wild get none????

    Comment by Matt Thurston — January 22, 2008 @ 5:44 pm

  18. Right about the songs, Matt! Once could have monopolized the category and I’d have felt fine about it. But poor Eddie Vedder!

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 22, 2008 @ 5:55 pm

  19. I don’t know if I’d call Lord of the Rings an action film in the normal sense. It won for the same reason Star Wars won. But I agree the third one won for the series (although I’d dispute the first being the best - the editing was somewhat weak in it)

    Comment by clark — January 22, 2008 @ 6:37 pm

  20. A few points.

    Star Wars never won Best Picture.

    No animated picture will ever be nominated for Best Picture now that there’s a separate category for Best Animated Feature. It’s too bad in a way. The category gives more attention to animation, but its existence prevents animated films from being in the running for the big award.

    I saw Zodiac over the weekend and I thought it was amazing. Definitely a thinking man’s serial killer movie.

    Comment by Brian G — January 22, 2008 @ 8:21 pm

  21. It won best director, didn’t it? (Star Wars, that is)

    What about Raiders?

    Comment by Clark — January 22, 2008 @ 9:23 pm

  22. Nope.

    Comment by Brian G — January 23, 2008 @ 12:35 am

  23. Clark, Star Wars lost Best Picture and the directing award to Annie Hall, an instance of the Academy getting it right. In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark lost Best Picture to Chariots of Fire, a triumph of middle-brow mush. Raiders of the Lost Ark lost the directing award that year to Warren Beatty for Reds, the film that I think should have won Best Picture.

    Brian, I agree that the animated award pretty much prevents an animated film from being nominated for Best Picture. Too bad. At the same time, what a dilemma in the animated film category this year. Ratatouille is great, obviously, but is it better than Persepolis? A very hard decision to make…

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 23, 2008 @ 8:56 am

  24. Warren Beatty winning a Best Director award brings up an interesting Oscar phenomenon. Actors that direct often beat out other, better, more experienced directors to win Oscars, often the first time they’re nominated. This is because the majority of Academy members are actors, and I guess they watch out for their own.

    Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Redford all have Best Director Oscars. Redford beat out Scorsese for Raging Bull, and I don’t think that was right.

    Comment by Brian G — January 23, 2008 @ 2:12 pm

  25. Interesting. All of these actors turned directors except for Gibson beat Scorcese.

    Costner’s Wolves beat Goodfellas. Eastwood’s Baby beat The Aviator.

    Comment by Tim J — January 23, 2008 @ 2:20 pm

  26. Eastwood beating The Aviator isn’t a clear-cut case. The Costner and Redford cases do indeed seem clear-cut.

    Reds seems unproblematic to me because it’s actually an excellent, and well-directed, film.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 23, 2008 @ 2:56 pm

  27. Yeah, it’s a shame, because let’s face it, Departed was not as good as Goodfellas or Raging Bull, but because Scorsese’s not an actor he has to do another five movies before he gets his statue. Please.

    What of any note did Costner ever direct again? Nothing.

    Comment by Brian G — January 23, 2008 @ 2:57 pm

  28. It may not have deserved the oscar (though it was far better than, say, Crash or Forrest Gump) but Dances With Wolves isn’t exactly gerbil-feed either.

    Comment by Scudworth — January 23, 2008 @ 3:34 pm

  29. Scudworth, that’s a tricky set of comparisons. I think Crash is truly terrible. Forrest Gump is kind of okay; I’d certainly rather sit through it again than a lot of other films. I’d probably rate Dances With Wolves as about on par with Forrest Gump. The film’s central racial themes were bungled, I think, the moment it turned out that the Costner character was going to be given a white love interest. Otherwise, the film is some good cinematography and some nice verite moments mixed with some awkward violence. Overall, definitely a decent film but not really a classic for me. Nowhere near as good as Goodfellas, though, which was a pathbreaking film that people will probably still be watching 50 years from now.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 23, 2008 @ 3:46 pm

  30. I know we’ve all argued the merits of Scorcese’s films before, but I find Goodfellas a little overrated. While it is very well-acted and I like the story, I thought it ended kind of weird.

    He had two rules, never rat on your friends and keep your mouth shut. He ended up breaking those two rules and the impact was never really explored. Just some trial scenes. No real depth into the betrayal.

    I actually liked the Departed a lot. I think it might be Scorcese’s best “Hollywood” movie. There were some pretty intense moments. But again, Scorcese’s curse, he ended it weird.

    Comment by Tim J — January 23, 2008 @ 3:55 pm

  31. bert Redford all have Best Director Oscars. Redford beat out Scorsese for Raging Bull, and I don’t think that was right.

    Eastwood had been directing a long time when he finally won. I’m not sure what before would have deserved to win. (Did The Outlaw Jose Wales get a nod? — I’m too lazy to look) He was nominated for Bird wasn’t he? I know that picked up a few nods and was, what, a decade before Unforgiven.

    Redford is interesting since that movie about divorce (too lazy too look it up again) never seemed that great to me. It hasn’t become timeless. But other films he has done have been fantastic. (A River Runs Through it, while sentimental, is a fantastic film)

    Comment by Clark Goble — January 23, 2008 @ 4:05 pm

  32. RT, I watched Dances with Wolves again a few months back. It does really hold up although I agree with the flaws you bring up. I just don’t think they end up being that major though.

    I do like Forest Gump more than most and think it has help up surprisingly well. It was overly praised at the time I thought but I never understood the huge backlash against it.

    The Aviator was a pretty flawed film. Definitely not one of Scorsese’s best. Goodfellas has some flaws but I think is a very good film. Not Godfather great, but worthy of the place it holds. The Departed is overrated but still a good film. It’s sad that’s the movie that Scorsese has as his oscar film.

    Comment by Clark Goble — January 23, 2008 @ 4:15 pm

  33. The Academy Awards have knighted a lot of stinkers over the past 20 years, LOTR:ROTK being the worst. Mystic River would have been my choice that year (2003), followed by Master and Commander (based only on the five nominated films).

    In 1997 give me L.A. Confidential over the technically impressive, but emotionally vapid Titanic.

    In 2000, give me Crouching Tiger or Traffic over Braveheart II (a.k.a. Gladiator).

    In 2001, give me the harrowing In The Bedroom or even the dazzling Moulin Rouge! over A Beautiful Mind.

    In 1996 I think they got it right with The English Patient, though I would have been equally happy had they picked Fargo.

    1993 was one of the strongest years for film in the last twenty-five. Schindler’s List, despite a maudlin ending, deserved the Oscar, but In the Name of the Father, The Piano, and The Remains of the Day were all wonderful. Even The Fugitive, the fifth nominated film, remains one of the best mainstream Hollywood thrillers of the past 25 years. Any of these 1993 films are better than Driving Miss Daisy (1989) or Rain Man (1988).

    Comment by Matt Thurston — January 23, 2008 @ 5:30 pm

  34. Matt, good calls, almost across the board. Although, unfortunately, I hated Mystic River, which I think fell in love with Sean Penn’s character and generally felt to me like a somewhat seedier episode of Law and Order.

    L.A. Confidential and In The Bedroom are serious missed opportunities on the Academy’s part.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 23, 2008 @ 6:15 pm

  35. I liked Mystic River although it had that one big flaw that bugs me about so many books and movies. The whole thing works only if no one asks any questions. i.e. the whole plot breaks down if even one person talks. That happens occasionally of course in real life. But Hollywood tends to have it happen way too much. (I like to call it the Three’s Company plot vehicle since this tended to be the basis for most episodes in that old 70’s sit com)

    Comment by Clark Goble — January 23, 2008 @ 7:25 pm

  36. Roasted’s critiques of DwW are all apt. It’s still a pretty decent film. Forrest Gump isn’t bad either. But not best-picture worthy — especially in the same year as Pulp Fiction and the Shawshank Redemption. For that reason alone it deserved some of the scorn that has been heaped upon it. Brokeback Mountain (moment of silence) was a far, far superior picture to Crash.

    Clark, I like that — Three’s Company plot vehicle. You should trademark it.

    Comment by Scudworth — January 23, 2008 @ 8:08 pm

  37. I agree with RT on Mystic River. It was well-acted, but that was about it.

    Comment by Tim J. — January 23, 2008 @ 9:15 pm

  38. Clark,

    I think Ebert has a term for that. Let me look…

    Ah yes, the aptly named IDIOT PLOT.

    Comment by a random John — January 23, 2008 @ 9:16 pm

  39. I love Forrest Gump for how they used music in it. (And not just because they used Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty.”)

    My favorite scene being when the girl is all beat up from her cokehead boyfriend in the 70s and the Doors are playing. The song says, “Don’t you love her madly,” and she’s gathering her stuff to leave. She pauses to look in the mirror at her bruises and it says, “Don’t you love her face.” Then “Don’t you love her as she’s walking out the door,” as she slams the door on her way out.

    Comment by Susan M — January 23, 2008 @ 9:37 pm

  40. As a continuation to my previous comment, here is an entire glossary of Ebert movie terms.

    Comment by a random John — January 23, 2008 @ 9:49 pm

  41. Knocked Up is a better movie than Juno.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — January 24, 2008 @ 8:24 am

  42. I thought there were elements of the “idiot plot” at work in The Departed. I mean, we were expected to believe that all the people involved were extremely intelligent and crafty, yet:

    1) The Staties didn’t bother to check into the background of Sullivan, from which they should have been able to easily figure out that he was connected to Costello;

    2) Sullivan didn’t figure out that Costigan was the mole until late in the movie, even though they apparently started with the Staties around the same time;

    3) Both Sullivan and Costigan were sleeping with the same woman, a police psychologist, but no one bothered to check out who she’s seeing;

    4) None of the staties were apparently that suspicious when Queenan was killed shortly after Sullivan asked them to start tailing him;

    and other stuff. I liked the move and found it very suspenseful and entertaining, but I didn’t think the plot was all that believable. Has anyone seen “Infernal Affairs”? I’ve heard that it actually works better, and is about an hour shorter.

    Comment by BTD Greg — January 24, 2008 @ 8:33 am

  43. BTD Greg, I have issues like that all the time. Like in the Bourne movie.

    Comment by Susan M — January 24, 2008 @ 9:02 am

  44. D. Fletcher, I don’t buy it. I liked Knocked Up a lot, but I think Juno was more cinematic, had more developed and interesting characters, and generally had more to say. But Knocked Up may well belong on the list of movies that were better than Michael Clayton.

    Susan, you’re absolutely right that the use of music was the best part of Forrest Gump. The soundtrack holds up better than any other part of the film, I think. It’s a big part of the reason I think the film is watchable, overall.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 24, 2008 @ 9:13 am

  45. BTD Greg,

    I saw Infernal Affairs when it first came out and really liked it. It would be hard for me to compare and contrast it with The Departed though, since I saw it 4-5 years ago. Being familiar with the plot did spoil The Departed for me somewhat.

    If you are looking for more “believability,” Infernal Affairs may solve some problems, but likely raise many more. Actually, I find this to be true of most Hong Kong films — i.e. a low believability factor — especially HK crime dramas, but I also think it is part of their charm. I’m usually more forgiving of foreign film in general since I’m less familiar with their cultural, political, and institutional norms.

    A film like La Femme Nikita works for me, while a remake like Point of No Return does not. Yes, Nikita is a superior film to Return from a filmmaking standpoint, but it is more than that… It is easier for me to buy or accept the idea of a convicted felon being retrained as a government assassin in France, where I don’t live and can suspend disbelief, than the same thing happening in the United States. I had the same feeling comparing Infernal Affairs and The Departed.

    Comment by Matt Thurston — January 24, 2008 @ 2:40 pm

  46. I think we should try to compile a list of 2,007 movies that were better than Michael Clayton.

    Comment by Scudworth — January 24, 2008 @ 8:37 pm

  47. Personally, I think Capote was better than both Crash and Brokeback Mountain. It was the film that got robbed that year.

    Comment by Brian G — January 24, 2008 @ 11:30 pm

  48. Capote was surprisingly good. I had no desire to see either Crash or Brokeback Mountain so I can’t comment on those. (Although everyone I know who saw Crash was pretty disappointed)

    Susan, what was it about the Bourne movies that required such a suspension of disbelief? There was a point in the third movie that really bugged me. But overall I thought they were surprisingly well thought out thrillers.

    Comment by clark — January 25, 2008 @ 12:47 am

  49. Clark, Brokeback Mountain is actually a very worthwhile film, with a wonderful visual texture that’s reinforced by an amazing score. It’s also a much less ideological film than it is sometimes portrayed as being. So you are missing something here…

    That said, I loved Capote, too.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 25, 2008 @ 8:30 am

  50. Once was a great little film, but it was really simple, the story, the dialogue, the cinematography was okay. What lifted it was the acting and chemistry between the two leads. Oscar material? No.

    Comment by Sherpa — January 25, 2008 @ 12:47 pm

  51. Brokeback Mountain was actually a worthwhile film. The actual message of the film was much more conservative than people who ever saw it think.

    Comment by Sherpa — January 25, 2008 @ 12:48 pm

  52. RT, I like to think I’m all for equal rights for everyone, but the thought of guys kissing makes me icky. I’m hoping that’s not legitimate homophobia. (I had a gay roommate and it didn’t bother me at all once I found out - I just don’t want to see it)

    Comment by Clark — January 25, 2008 @ 1:38 pm

  53. Clark, I think you should see the film, even so. I think it will be much less icky-making than you expect. And it’s really beautiful.

    Comment by RoastedTomatoes — January 25, 2008 @ 2:01 pm

  54. Clark, I’m not surprised that Sweeney Todd wasn’t nominated. For one thing, it’s too dark for the Academy — even in a year that sees No Country… and There Will Be Blood nominated.

    I know I’m late here, but this really doesn’t make sense. Sweeney Todd is too dark despite the flood of nominations for the two infinitely darker films you’ve mentioned?

    Comment by Brian V — January 27, 2008 @ 5:28 pm

  55. Clark, about the Bourne movie—I thought it was incredibly stupid that the government who created the best assassin ever wouldn’t realize it was him doing whatever he was doing…Can’t remember now. He left a fingerprint or something? And they really thought mister mastermind would do that accidentally? That kind of thing.

    Comment by Susan M — January 27, 2008 @ 8:55 pm