This promised to be a great thriller, with good building of tension and some good performances. With all the Oscar nominations behind it, I was eager to watch this.
During the first half we are teased as to what the big corporal secret is, so much that we are supposed to be shocked by the truth. Unfortunately, this is not such a big reveal, maybe because we’ve seen it in other movies, or the filmmakers were just not that interested in it. I don’t think it was explained in details at all, and maybe it wasn’t needed.
I think this is more about Clayton, how he’s been through his life and how he’s going to deal with this huge problem of his. However even his personal life was only hinted at, and he actually doesn’t do anything to deal with the problem, except for the ending, when his life was at risk.
I could see that being the theme of this story, Clayton not doing anything to improve his own life, which is a contradiction to the beginning where he’s presented as the problem solver. He can help everybody else, but he can’t solve his own problems. However this just didn’t work for me, he was too passive throughout the movie.
Even the ending felt a bit rushed. Was that enough to convict the responsible party? On the other side of the case, Tilda SDFS gave a good performance as a normal manager, who is dealing with such big stakes that she resorts to killing. She is not a criminal, in fact she can barely stand the pressure, but she forces herself to go through with it.
Despite all the problems, I always like George Clooney. I don’t think he deserved a nomination, but I did like it. That goes for the whole movie actually. I did enjoy watching it, I can also recommend it. However this did not deserve to receive 7 Oscar nominations, including best picture.
Rating: 3 Stars