No matter what people say, Tilda Swinton deserved the oscar

Yeah, it was so subtle I immediately forgot it. A woman performing Bob Dylan so well, you feel like it was him when you think back about it- that deserved to lose out to a strong but forgettable performance in a movie that no one will remember in ten years time.
Perhaps you ought to go pop in your copy of the Kramer Vs Kramer director's cut dvd, so you can applaud some more forgotten choices of the academy, while I head over to the "Juno" board to help people understand that these "oscars" are being pooped all over the front lawns of our moviegoing suburb.

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I agree totally.

I think this film was totally underrated and underpraised.

I think Swinson's acting throughout the whole film was outstanding, though; the final scene was really more Clooney's than hers, and I didn't think it stood out head and shoulders above the others as far as she was concerned. --The practicing in front of the mirror; the scene with Clooney in the restaurant where he first tries damage control; the scene where she's calling the hitman for the first time...all brilliant and chilling in their believability.

It all goes to hand-in-hand with the greatness of the film itself: Typically, villains are these dark, in-control figures who are deliberately menacing. But here's a real woman who decides to have another human being murdered. And we see her in a bathroom stall, clearly in agony, checking the sweat on her blouse.

On the street with Mr. Verne, she plans the hit in a way we could actually picture it being done. It's not all perfect and "stagey". She's clearly nervous, and finally, "Okay". "Okay...the other way?", replies the hitman. It's brilliant *in its realism*.

Personally, I think Clooney deserved it, too. And Tony Gilroy for Director and Screenplay. I might have even voted for Sydney Pollack for best Male Supporting--I loved his portrayal of Marty Bach.

The high-powered stakes. The angst and agony of the characters--personal, and professional. Clayton going after Edens, trying to reel him in. The dialogue was all brilliant in its economy, and balancing of practical on-the-nose, with subtext. The competing personalities, each rich with passion and believable motivation and depth.

People have no idea just how hard it is to write a movie this well.

This was a movie for *adults*. It was truly the thinking man's (and woman's) legal thriller. Not for grown-up kids who visit the movies in order to harvest adrenaline.

Reading these posts, I read between the lines, and I hear the same jealous wannabees who dump on *every* film that comes out in order to find an outlet for their frustration at their lack of a film career. Sure I have an unsold screenplay like a million other guys in LA. But I give credit where due, and don't dump on films that don't deserve it.

This movie was *brilliant* from start to finish.

For my money, Michael Clayton was the best movie of 2007.

But I couldn't figure out what her character was supposed to be? Ruthless? She came across as very unsure and nervous through the whole thing, as if she really didn't think she had what it takes to have her position. She over-rehearsed everything, she was skittish with Verne (I don't think Vern would have worked with someone so unsure).

Swinton was indeed great in this role. Surely deserving of the nomination. But the Oscar should have gone to Amy Ryan for her work in Gone Baby Gone. That was a staggering, unforgettable performance. I strongly suspect that many of the voters in the academy didn't see it. That's the only possible explanation I can come up with for how her performance didn't win the statue.

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I just rewatched this film and I agree that she deserved to win but I also realize how unconvential of a role it is to win an award. Tilda Swinton isn't given any flashy dialogue or big speeches. She's the film's main antagonist but she is far from the average villain in the average thriller. Her performance is almost entirely made up of body language and facial expressions and in that sense, she is absolutely brilliant. In the scene that cuts back and forth between her rehearsing in her apartment and her being interviewed alone, what she's saying doesn't matter. It has little significance, the words are not important to the audience and I don't think they're meant to be. The key is to watch her and observe what she's doing, all the emotions, it's fantastic. We see that she is only human and we almost even feel bad for her when she is arrested (emphasis on "almost"). Incredible performance.

"Life goes on within you and without you." - George Harrison