Review of All the Money in the World (2017) by Ridley B — 19 Jan 2018

TL;DR: This movie looks pretty, but is thematically bumbling and uninteresting.

This movie is incredibly visually appealing. The shots are beautiful and make me excited to work behind a camera. There's this one fantastic shot that is near the end of the film where a car is seen driving through the city of Rome and the sun lines up with all the buildings perfectly.

(Get a cushion, because a but is coming).

But it does not know what it wants to say. It so clearly wants to say something, and the fact that it is directed by Ridley Scott should inform you that it very much could say something. But it never does. Near the beginning, you might think it's a criticism of these true story, suspense, political thriller movies (which as a whole NEEDS criticism because it's a wholeheartedly boring genre), but no, by about halfway through the film, you'll realize that this film is reveling in its genre. Perhaps it is a story about how people can change? While the bare bones of those ideas are there, that doesn't explain why Plummer's character dies in the end. The semiotics of the entire situation implies that because Plummer died after saving his grandson, being generous literally kills wealth. Maybe then it's an honest and bipartisan criticism of the rich? This is easily the strongest choice, but the movie also has many scenes displaying wealth making life better.

So what is happening here? This movie clearly had so much potential! Seriously, Scott, come on. You've done better before. This movie frustrates me so much. So yes, three stars.