From the time immemorial, stories depicting the very rich and the powerful having no moral uprightness have become a mainstay of storytelling. Ebenezer Scrooge, of course, is the typical and classic example readers may recall. However, those days were even when the scriptures claimed that ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle. Consequently, it takes some effort to make the notion that rich people are out of touch sound new and without pretention.
Fortunately for him, Ridley Scott achieved it in All the Money in the World, awash in miscapitalism, Other than introducing the notion of creative haters that must be silenced, that has been the central focus of the film, the kidnapping of the young heir is there at some point was inevitable, and is based upon the kidnapping of young Gail Harris Rich. Michelle Williams married into the world’s richest family and walked out on her drug-addicted husband to her vile and scheming father-in-law, J. Paul Getty, Christopher Plummer.
However, her kids are still affiliated with the greek family and to the end, John Paul Getty III plays arrested and attempted convincing his gramps to part with the entire mine. The gang seeks to get $17 million for the safe custody of young Paul. Obviously, Gail cannot afford it but J. Paul Getty should be able to, and he refuses to speak to her. He however calls for a press conference saying to the whole world, he is not going to spend a penny in order to bring back his grandson.
All the Money in the World takes place in the environment of very wealthy people who disdain most of the people in the world except when those people can make or lose money for such wealthy people. Kandiyoti stated that the perspective which most of the audience expects in this universal language is more lethal to the film making than anything else. It’s so impossible to fathom this kind of inhuman that the film has to cut back to the front and tackle explaining why the Getty family was actually a very odd family such that a billionaire loses 0.017% of his earnings to rescue his barely related child.
Everything revolves around Michelle Williams, who gives an excellent performance of a woman who is determined that no wealthy obtrusive male, nor the media, nor the cops, nor even the one man who is supposed to stand by her, Fletcher Chase, a CIA hired by Getty to find him his grandson – though at the lowest possible price – will manipulate her. Under pressure from all these strangers, the character Michelle Williams does something that is not only quite complex, but she also perfects it, and transforms the resentment towards all this into the most satisfying moment in the film. Its just lucky because otherwise all the other characters in the film are either evil, lack the depth, or would probably be acted by Mark Wahlberg, that idiot.
Let’s take this out of contention: much of the spotlight will be directed at Christopher Plummer, the man who stepped in for Kevin Spacey just slightly over a month to Jonathan’s Paul’s release date, albeit there is a reason to believe that in this regard I’ll shoot myself in the foot, but manages to fully convince that there are such filthy amounts of money that a person is no longer a person anymore.
Mark Wahlberg in the meantime has been with the film since the very bgeinning, and he permanently has a feeling as if he made a detour to another set and lost his way. He plays a skilled business negotiator who never carried a gun on repeating why even when he was undercover that was not necessary because he was throwing on all of the manipulation so well, there was no need to pull out a gun. But his intonation ranges from a ‘one note’ monotone to a rather ‘drowsy and pleasant’ delivery very few who can do justice to the phrase ‘this is what I am talking about’, can do so, within the boundaries of the script. At no point does Wahlberg sell the idea that he knows what he is doing. Even the film’s one attempt to make him look like a tough – when he does skeet shooting from the hip without any aiming – is completely unconvincing.
Somewhere in there lies a pretty good movie. Ridley Scott is in command of it, Michelle Williams and Christopher Plummer are performing it, whereas the ‘cameraman’ Dariusz Wolski made sure to capture every angle. The fault lies with Wahlberg and the screenplay which depicts, to its credit, the fascinating discussions between J. Paul Getty and Gail Harris about the kidnapping but fails when the actual kidnapping takes place because well, J. Paul Getty III is not that exciting. Effective performance from Plummer Charles is not what I’m saying. That this is a lowly film that has seen J. Paul Getty III as a pawn. It goes without saying which player of the game would be the most interesting but because he has too many scenes, he drags the movie down more than a little.
Conclusion
Michelle Williams and Christopher Plummer are fantastic, but Mark Wahlberg’s casting is utterly misplaced, and the ‘kidnapping’ aspect of this kidnapping film is rather boring. All the Money in the World is the most entertaining story one can tell about a woman living in the world most revolves with unemotional, cold-blooded men who subdues all foreseen obstacles on her way by whatever means she finds plausible. At its worst, it is a well-crafted thriller but nothing more.
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