Credits

subject:

Tony Gilroy

screenplay:

Tony Gilroy

direction:

Tony Gilroy

produced by:

Jennifer Fox, Sydney Pollack and Steve Samuels for Section Eight Ltd., Castle Rock Entertainment, Mirage Enterprises, Samuels Media

distributed by:

Medusa

Italian dialogues:

Francesco Vairano

dubbing direction:

Francesco Vairano

dubbing assistant:

Antonella Bartolomei

dubbing sound technician:

Fabrizio Salustri

sound mixer technician:

Fabio Tosti

editing society:

Sefit-Cdc

Voices:

George Clooney:

Francesco Pannofino

Tom Wilkinson:

Franco Zucca

Tilda Swinton:

Anna Cesarei

Sydney Pollack:

Michele Gammino

Austin Williams:

Ruggero Valli

Italian dialogue				2,5
Dubbing direction				4,5

Michael Clayton
USA 2007

An in-house lawyer in a big law firm, Michael Clayton – a victim of family ties and gambling – gets his revenge by unmasking the plot of a multinational killer which poisons its farmers. A classical civil movie which is rich thanks to a complex piece of screenwriting, a precise clock-work like direction and grand interpretations by George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sidney Pollack.

All the dubbers are at the level and height of the stars they interpret: if George Clooney is capable of telling us so much in a quarter of an hour of silence as the film credits pass on screen, Francesco Pannofino perfectly conveys his resigned ‘disillusioned hero’ tone of voice; Anna Cesareni is an excellent Tilda Swinton, female lawyer almost alien with damp armpits who tries out her speeches in her petticoat in front of the mirror; Franco Zucca rebuilds Tom Wilkinson’s lucid madness very well and Michele Gammino powerfully interprets the class of Sidney Pollack. A special mention for Ruggero Valli, young dubber of Austin Williams, who shows verve, countenance and originality.

Vairano’s direction is very good, allowing us to miss some moments of imperfect sinc although the same cannot be said for the rewriting of the dialogues, which do not favour the understanding of a complex, confusing theme. The irreprehensible direction of the dubbing actors contrasts with the moments of superficiality of the adaptation (some quite frankly inexplicable, like saying “«quello stronzo del Wall Street Journal» “that piece of sh** from the Wall Street Journal” whose voice on the telephone was obviously a female one). They’re not really bad choices, more like a rushed, unbalanced process which doesn’t delve into the narrative mechanism leaving us slightly perplexed from one moment to the next. An example: Arthur’s monologue (Tom Wilkinson) which opens the film and which should allow us to enter in media res, in reality tells us very little, not only about the events but, more importantly, about the lucid madness of the character who seems confused rather than finely and consciously aware. A pity.

[original review in Italian by Giovanni Rampazzo]