MovieChat Forums > Michael Clayton (2007) Discussion > Question About the "Kinko's" Scene

Question About the "Kinko's" Scene

posted 8 years ago by hilaryjrp
13 replies | jump to latest

It's been three years since I watched "Michael Clayton," and something jumped out at me re-watching this time.

In order to have an actual motive to kill Michael Clayton, Karen Crowder has to have actual evidence that *Clayton* has evidence against her. That evidence only comes when he finds the copy-center receipt in Realms of Conquest, in Arthur's apartment. He goes to the congested (meaning lots of witnesses) copy-center, and the clerk agrees to hide the "2,000" copies until Clayton returns for them.

The very next scene, "Mr. Verne" (one of the two Nordic-looking assassins) has a copy! This apparently gets Karen Crowder to spring for a second hit. The assassins are so scrupulous, one even asks the other if Clayton is alone before detonating the two car bombs; it's not as if they called Crowder and suggested an extra killing.

The writers are so scrupulous, they should have thrown in a shot of "Mr. Verne" swiping that spiral-bound copy.

[–] PenTheater 8 years ago

It threw me off too for a few minutes, but I think the discovery is obvious.

Because we also see how scrupulous the hit squad is in the Arthur's apartment scene, so I think it is understood they could easily get a clerk at Kinko's to tell them what's up. They probably shot the scene you are looking for, but edited it for time.

Also in editing, sometimes leaving out just the right amount of information for the audience's imagination (and therefor participation), is a trait of what becomes classic movies.

Ephemeron.

[–] hilaryjrp 8 years ago

I have to say: for as much as I love this film (and hated everything about the comic-book There Will Be Blood), the script is extremely disjointed.

I'm not talking about the reliance on flashback. I'm talking about the sheer amount of fictional material crammed into the running-time. Apparently, the writers cut a single "girlfriend-at-home" scene, and thank God for that.

But the problem extends beyond the amount of people and places Clayton interacts with. If all the family-and-selling-the-restaurant stuff had been cut out, the movie would have been much worse. Unless you don't mind not really understanding a whole heck of a lot of stuff the first time you see it, however, you will be repeatedly stumped by the script's manner of exposition. Beginning the movie with Arthur's voice-over, for example, is the first instance of "what does this have to do with anything" the film over-all suffers from. The number of Karen-Crowder-talks-to-herself-in-a-mirror scenes could have been cut, or rewritten in a way that would have shown her as the lone wolf she may (or may not) have been.

Anyhow, I don't like to pick apart films I love. There is just *something* about this particular script that's off. And that continuity problem with the Kinko's memo falling into the assassin's hand--if it's an editing problem, it's a real problem.

[–] eelb 8 years ago

On first viewing, I found the film interesting, but difficult to follow. There's many details, and it's hard to figure who many characters are, and what their motives are.

[–] hunter909 8 years ago

The other assassin (Anthony Michael Hall look-alike) is standing in line behind Clayton when he gets the memo and gives the clerk $50.

[–] Batty67 (358) 5 years ago

Anthony Michael Hall probably would have loved the work. And I thought the same thing about the look-alike!

[–] bghill1 8 years ago

The clerk could be bought, Verne probably saw Clayton slip him the 50 and did the same

[–] eelb 7 years ago

The clerk could be bought, Verne probably saw Clayton slip him the 50 and did the same

Verne doesn't have to slip him anything. The store counter is bustling with customers, and the clerk doesn't even notice Verne's presence. The box is left open on the corner of the counter. Verne just helps himself to a copy and walks out.

[–] tjh3123 8 years ago

With the assassin in the store and it established the assassins are trained professionals, it's a given that he could convince the clerk to share what Michael was doing there.

[–] Keely 8 years ago

Yes, when they showed the assassin in line I think it was obvious that he was going to get info from the clerk.

I don't really agree that the script was disjointed. I've just finished watching it for maybe the 5th time and this is the 1st time all the pieces came together for me. The writer had it all worked out just fine, but when you see it for the first time it can be confusing. I love movies like this, ones that reward repeated viewings, because the payoff is enormous. Each time I've seen it the impact on me has increased.

[–] eelb 8 years ago

My take was that Clayton told the clerk to hold on to the copies, not hide them. Clayton has no use for all the copies, he just needs one to figure out what Arthur was up to. Arthur ordered up all the copies as part of his manic state. The clerk sees no urgency in immediately storing the copies, and he lets the box that had been opened for Clayton remain on the counter. The U North operatives had been tailing Clayton, and they saw Clayton take one of the copies and want to know what information it contains. The store is quite busy, and it was simple for them to take a copy out of the box sitting on the counter.

[–] mme3924-1 8 years ago

My take was that Clayton told the clerk to hold on to the copies, not hide them.

That is what he told him. Just hold them until I can pick them up, especially since there were 25 boxes of them. Which brings up this question: who were all the copies for? UNorth stockholders? That's all I could think of, especially since Swinton is addressing a group of what appears to be stockholders at the end.

[–] eelb 7 years ago

That is what he told him. Just hold them until I can pick them up, especially since there were 25 boxes of them. Which brings up this question: who were all the copies for? UNorth stockholders? That's all I could think of, especially since Swinton is addressing a group of what appears to be stockholders at the end.

The copies were ordered by Arthur, and intended for no one other than himself. The same reason he ordered all those loaves of bread he can't possibly eat. Arthur was mentally ill.

[–] Mo_Fishwater 8 years ago

There were copies of the memorandum sitting on the counter. The employee was shown turning around and leaving the counter area as Clayton exits, with the assassin standing right there eyeballing the counter. The scene was clearly set up to show that all the assassin had to do was grab a copy and walk out. Not complicated.