Review of All the Money in the World (2017) by Dennis P — 31 Dec 2017

Wow, just wow. It is rather unfortunate that we have all become so aware of the recast of Christopher Plummer as magnate John Paul Getty. I was pleasantly surprised to honestly stunned to see how significant Plummer's screen-time is in this kidnapping biopic.

I would call this one the best ensemble acting performances I have seen this year. Michelle Williams is the best that I have ever seen her. Mark Wahlberg is so good, I can almost forget his Transformers and Marky Mark past.

Romain Duris as sympathetic kidnapper Cinquanta is a character that really snuck up on me to gain some respect for his acting chops. The Getty estate locations tell us a lot about the grandeur of that kind of unbridled wealth, even more than Vitoria and Adhul from earlier this year.

I loved the variety of camera moves and setups including some overhead rig stuff showing us the scale of the grand spaces, and some handheld stuff indicating the nervous action. I may have a nit to pick with the color grading.

Did the past happen in desaturated colors? The technical are great. The story is better. This film may not be literally what occurred, but it is some really fine story telling in the finest based-on-a-true-story tradition.

Somebody give director Ridley Scott's baby some nomination lovin'.