Review of All the Money in the World (2017) by Nbfc — 18 Jan 2018

No matter how much critical praise and award nominations Ridley Scott’s latest crime thriller may receive, it’s become increasingly likely that the film will forever be remembered as “the movie that replaced Kevin Spacey very quickly”.

Which is a shame but completely understandable.

Unless you have been hiding out in the Italian country side for the past three months, it’s likely you’ve heard that House of Card’s Kevin Spacey originally played J. Paul Getty (he even appeared in the first trailer) but due to being hit with multiple sexual harassment and assault allegations, TriStar Pictures and Scott decided back in November to completely reshoot all of JP Getty’s scenes with Captain von Trap himself, Christopher Plummer, in Spacey’s stead.

Now let’s take this into context for a second, with only a month left until release, Ridley had to completely reshoot almost half a movie and not only did he still complete it all in time for it’s December release (Plummer’s scenes were all shot over the course of an 8 day period), not an ounce of wear and tear is present in the final cut.

Sure there is some slightly obvious green screen going on in a flashback sequence depicting the Plummer Getty meeting with the Saudis in the desert, but it all turned out so impressively seamless. This certainly not a Justice League situation where that film was littered with awkward editing with the new scenes sticking out like a sore thumb.

Say what you will about how hit (Alien, Blade Runner) or miss (Alien Covenant, A Good Year) Ridley Scott can be, I got to admire his versatility as a director.

In a way, his latest crime thriller falls into that category of Ridley flicks like Body of Lies and American Gangster where they feel like more art-house versions of the type of movies his brother (Tony Scott) used to make.

As far as the story is concerned, it’s a pretty straightforward but intense kidnapping tale that somewhat has an over-arching theme regarding how “money can’t buy happiness” but nothing too profound as far as Scott is concerned. Scott is very much pulled back this time around with nothing too flashy but what really elevates the proceedings is the incredible ensemble cast and some really sharp dialogue.

The obvious main attraction is Christopher Plummer playing the notoriously frugal JP Getty. It’s not exactly a stretch for Plummer since he played a similarly greedy character in Spike Lee’s Inside Man but despite the quick shooting schedule, he delivers a pleasantly nuanced performance. You will be continuously shocked by how greedy Getty can be but at the same time, but Plummer instills enough of a warm human side to the rich billionaire that you end up pitying him at times.

In a way, Getty Senior is a prime example that getting rich tends to reveal precisely who your true friends are.

However our two main leads are Michelle Williams, playing the worried mother to Getty III, and Mark Wahlberg as Getty’s advisor and former CIA operative. Williams is great as a worrying mother and I can’t help but be impressed by how un-Mark Wahlberg Mark Wahlberg is in this movie. Despite being a former CIA agent, Wahlberg very much plays a mild-mannered business type and never turns into an action hero stereotype. Heck, he even manages to successfully hold back his signature Boston accent for the most part.

However, I think the real show-stealing performance was provided by French actor Romain Duris who plays Cinquanta, one of Getty III’s abductors. Despite being a kidnapper, Cinquanta sincerely wants to see Getty III survive through his ordeal. Duris and Charlie Plummer (Getty III) share a great fascinating poignant chemistry with each other and despite Cinquanta being a kidnaper, Duris instills so much charisma into the role that you can’t help but like him.

There are certainly flaws that prevent this from being a great film. Outside of his scenes with Duris, Charlie Plummer is unfortunately given the shaft when it comes to screen time. He does have one awesome scene, but for the most part we never really get to know Getty III too much outside of being the McGuffin. The movie also left a particularly bad taste in my mouth by having possibly one of the most cliche death scenes ever.

It’s far from one of Scott’s best films and one could argue the production history is probably more interesting than the film itself, but ATMITW remains a solid, classy, and exciting thriller that will make for great rainy afternoon viewing.

Although one day I would like to see the Kevin Spacey cut of the film just to compare the two performances.