Review of All the Money in the World (2017) by Chesterftof — 25 Jan 2018

I’ll be honest: I only really know Ridley Scott because of his work on the Alien franchise. And of those films, I’ve only actually watched the first one. Before starting this blog, I rarely followed Directors, though that’s an error I’m seeking to change.

Much like Three Billboards, I’ve seen this film getting quite a few nominations this awards season. As I’d made it an unofficial New Years’ resolution to see more ‘real films’, I decided to give this one a whirl, despite knowing very little about both the cast, crew and subject matter.

By the end, I found myself rather pleased, for quite a few reasons. The film is rather pretty to look at, despite it’s oftentimes bleak colour palette. One particular shot, one of Christopher Plummer’s last in the film, was especially gorgeous. The dark room was lit by a fire, and it was honestly beautiful.

It’s worth noting that the pacing may not be for everyone. Based on the trailers, I’d assumed this would be a sleek kidnapping film with a fun soundtrack, potentially with a big shootout at the end featuring Mark Wahlberg’s character. Instead, it was a far slower paced, more mature film than I’d anticipated. There was barely a handful of action scenes, though those which were present were handled very well. Despite this, much of the film feels tense, especially thanks to Michelle Williams’s performance as Mrs. Getty.

The characters are tough to judge as they are based on real people; It’s hard to tell what is inaccurate, or what is a poor choice from the director. Regardless, most of what I saw was perfectly enjoyable; Christopher Plummer’s Jean Paul Getty was quite wonderful, and I didn’t actually notice any of the re-shoots. They blended in seamlessly. I still do wonder what Kevin Spacey’s portrayal would have looked like, and part of me hopes that version is released one day, if only to sate my morbid curiosity. As mentioned previously, Michelle Williams was fantastic, regardless of how few emotions the plot allowed her to convey (it typically went from Sobbing, to elated hope, back to sobbing and so on). I must say, I’ve never been a fan of Mark Wahlberg. I don’t think I’ve seen him in a good movie, though that fault almost certainly remains with me. Still, Marky Mark (sans the funky bunch) gave a fair performance, even if I feel it was somewhat against his ‘type’. I see him as more of an ‘every-man’, rather than a highly trained, ex-government investigator. Lastly, I wish to briefly give credit to Romain Duris. He plays one of the kidnappers, but honestly, I found him to be the most likeable character in the film. All of the Gettys are annoying in their own way, but Romain manages to keep the most human character..

Regarding the plot briefly, I’m rather confused. I always struggle with films like these; I don’t know how much credit can go to the writers, and how much actually happened. I will give respect to this film, however, for the end slate. It explains that, while the film is based on true events, some of it was dramatised for the film. Many ‘based on a true story’ films I’ve seen aren’t honest enough to admit they’ve deviated from the plot somewhat. *Cough, Cough, The Greatest Showman*.

The music was something I struggled to pick out at times. Much of it blended into the scene, though many may argue that’s a good thing. Personally, however, I prefer iconic soundtracks. I will concede, however, that by the end, there was a particularly powerful song accompanying the Christopher Plummer shot I mentioned earlier. At one point, I also believe I noticed a foreign cover of James Brown’s ‘Man’s World’. It surprised me in the moment, and pulled me from the film while I tried to work out where I recognised it from.

Overall, this film was a success for the most-part. At the halfway point, I probably would’ve given the film a 5/10. Very little had happened that earned my interest, but the second half managed to pull me back in. In total, I’ll give the film a 7/10.

This doesn’t affect my scoring at all, but I feel I should briefly mention it. If you have epilepsy, I would advise you to steer clear. While many films claim to have ‘bright, flashing lights’, there was a short scene where I began to feel sick watching it, and I don’t even have an illness relating to such a thing.