Films are repeatedly referenced as a visual medium, and certainly the release schedule of any given summer slate would bear that notion out. George Clooney’s new film, Michael Clayton, though, opens with a very theatrical torrent of words — a panicked narration about a chrysalis and rebirth. This shouldn’t be too surprising, given that the movie is the directorial debut of Tony Gilroy, the writer behind The Devil’s Advocate, Proof of Life and, most notably and directly responsible for this opportunity, the three Bourne action flicks.

Still, the degree to which Michael Clayton remains an exercise in linguistics — personal combat, gymnastics, avoidance and parsing — all while still pursuing its separate narrative threads is fairly impressive, and certainly refreshing and interesting. A loose white-collar thriller in the vein of The Firm, it’s The Insider remade and rechristened with all the coiled, white-hot intensity of a crime thriller like Heat. In fact, the specifics of its plot are almost incidental; Michael Clayton is about how dollar-chasing desperation corrodes character. It’s a study of mid-life crisis and moral awakening filtered through the rubric of a class action legal drama, and as such, the film reminds one of just how devalued language has become, both in life, but certainly on screen.

Clooney) works at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York City, Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, as their in-house “fixer,” a one-man velvet hammer. The movie opens at night, with him being summoned to a private residence after a client has committed a hit-and-run. Soon much bigger problems loom on the horizon for the firm, though. KB&L’s top litigator, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson, above left), has had an apparent breakdown during a Milwaukee deposition in a $3 billion class action suit centering on a carcinogenic field agent.

Making matters worse, it appears Edens has had a come-to-Jesus ethical conversion, and started taking steps to actually aide the case against KB&L’s client, agro-chemical company U-North, and sabotage his longtime employer. The career of in-house U-North chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on her ability to keep certain nasty matters from bubbling to the surface, and brokering a settlement on a case that’s been heretofore purposefully dragged out for more than six years. Meanwhile, the firm’s co-founder, Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), sends Clayton into the breach to tackle this unprecedented disaster. In doing so, Clayton must face down the harsh reality of the notion that we become the things we do. For the full review, from FilmStew, click here. (Warner Bros., R, 120 minutes)