Michael Clayton (2007 Tony Gilroy & scr)

Tom Wilkinson died unexpectedly on 30 December aged 75. We didn't have a copy of In the Bedroom but he gives a marvellous performance in this as a brilliant lawyer who's off his meds and falling apart, but has uncovered a major corporate cover up. It's quite a bewildering start, but once you're hooked in, the pieces of the jigsaw all start to fall together beautifully, and the ending is beautiful.

The only thing I remembered from almost eleven years ago was the horses.

We thought it was terrific, very well edited by John Gilroy (the scene for example cutting between Tilda Swinton practising for her video interview and the actual thing) and photographed by Robert Elswit.

Great cast also features George Clooney, Merritt Wever, Dennis O'Hare, Sydney Pollack (who has studied and taught stage acting before getting into films, both as an actor and director), Sean Cullen (brother cop), Robert Prescott & Terry Serpico (assassins). Wilkinson and Clooney were Oscar nominated (as was Gilroy in both writer and director categories), Swinton won.

My only tiny cavil is there are perhaps too many siblings who don't necessarily advance the story.