Tony Gilroy's directorial debut is a revelation. It harkens back to the paranoid thrillers of the 70s but this one doesn't seem too far removed from the reality of today's corporate irresponsibility and greed.

At the centre of this masterpiece is George Clooney, a mesmerising actor who does things in this film that I don't think he's ever done before. The role demands something new of him - even though in some aspects it feels like a Clooney we've seen before, this one is more restrained - he plays Michael Clayton mostly under the surface. This isn't the suave thief of the Ocean movies, nor the rogue of Out of Sight. Michael Clayton is something much more complex.

Central to the character and the film itself is balance. How do you balance work and family? How do you get so immersed in these dirty dealings, grapple with a failed personal business venture, deal with an ex-wife, a drug-addicted brother, a lawyer from your firm who is off his meds and find time to be with your son? All the while, there's the intrigue of corporate espionage and later murder and a car bomb.

Gilroy scripted the Jason Bourne trilogy and has now given Clooney his own title character to explore. And while character and script are most definitely at the heart of why this film works, this directorial debut is assured; Gilroy's visual style is very restrained, but deliberate. His visual flourishes are rare, but perfectly justified when they come.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Beyond Clooney is the always extraordinary Tilda Swinton, an intense but likable performance by Tom Wilkinson and the reliable, stalwart Sydney Pollack.

It wouldn't surprise me if there were Oscar nominations for this film, it is deserving on nearly every level. Michael Clayton is smart, assured, subtle, mesmerising and uncompromising - much like the title character himself.