All the Money in the World Review

R: for language, some violence, disturbing images and brief drug content

Sony, TriStar Pictures, Imperative Pictures, Scott Free

Dir: Ridley Scott | Writer: David Scarpa

2 Hrs and 12 Minutes

Cast: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris, Charlie Plummer, Timothy Hutton

INTRO: Ever since K___n S___cy’s sexual allegations came out, I’ve been looking forward to this movie just because of the fate that rested on its shoulder’s. Ridley Scott has pulled off the unimaginable by recasting, reshooting, and reediting, his main lead out of his movie in favor of Christopher Plummer and the most important part was that he kept the film’s original release date like a fucking boss. But is the final product any good?

Rome, 1973. Masked men kidnap a teenage boy named John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer). His grandfather, Jean Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), is the richest man in the world, a billionaire oil magnate, but he's notoriously miserly. His favorite grandson's abduction is not reason enough for him to part with any of his fortune. All the Money in the World (2017) follows Gail, (Michelle Williams), Paul's devoted, strong-willed mother, who unlike Getty, has consistently chosen her children over his fortune. Her son's life in the balance with time running out, she attempts to sway Getty even as her son's mob captors become increasingly more determined, volatile and brutal. When Getty sends his enigmatic security man Fletcher Chace (Mark Wahlberg) to look after his interests, he and Gail become unlikely allies in this race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money.

THE GOOD

GETTY BUSY LIVING OR GETTY BUSY RECASTING

One of the most beneficial things about the movie that was saved was this recasting because, in all honesty, I can’t imagine Kevin Spacey as J. Paul Getty. As I try to imagine Spacey’s dialect as Getty, it doesn’t match the character at all. This is a man who supposed to be old and Grumpy, and well Plummer fits the bill.  The way Getty is supposed to be portrayed is by someone who can be fearful and big. One of the benefits Getty’s Plummer has is the base that he has in his voice. He has a booming voice that intimidates you every minute he’s on screen. All of these events happening to John Paul Getty III all connects back to Getty himself. The story is about a kid who is kidnapped by gangsters, but yet the villain is really Mr. Getty because of his stubbornness. Ironically Plummer’s previous role was Scrooge in “The Man Who Invented Christmas,” and Mr. Getty is more heartless than Scrooge.

RIDING WITH RIDLEY

Whatever beef I have with Scott making big blockbuster spectacles, this is the type of stories he excels at telling. Though the film is marketed as a fast-paced, intense thriller, it is preferably in fact a search and rescues procedural similar in the way “Argo” was. The way how the story is structured is not through a chronological order for the first half of the film since we switch back and forth from moments of heightened action to the childhood of Paul Getty III when he first meets his grandpa for the first time. While something like “Molly’s Game” failed at incorporating flashbacks for character development purposes, this utilizes it in a way that adds depth to these characters and why some people act the way that they do. Its a movie that has all the components of a solid thriller: intensity, complexity, and all around great performances. The cinematography is excellent where the grittiness of the picture matches the dark tone the film has.

As mentioned, a lot of the elements primarily down to its craftsmanship, reminds me so much of Ben Affleck’s “Argo.” But here is something that I never admitted: I didn’t really like “Argo.” I thought it was a decent movie, but it was a thriller that wasn’t all that thrilling. I was sometimes intense, but it didn’t have a much urgency to it. What I love about “All the Money in the World,” is the sense of urgency and fearlessness of displaying failure. “Argo” was a typical get-in-get-out true story that made all the true events feel so easy to accomplish. Here you see the struggle of these characters and the situation that they are in. Even Mr. Getty has an arc of internal conflict, and it's understandable where it's coming from. Whenever it seems that Gail Harris and Fletcher Chase are closer to finding Paul, it actively shows that one step forward can move them ten steps back. It makes the story feel more authentic, and that's why it makes Scott good director. With every one of his movies, you have characters that go through trial and errors showing that they’re not too big to fail.

WHEN THERE’S A WILLIAMS THERE'S A WAY!

Michelle Williams is actively out to get that Oscar cause for the second year in a row she pulls off an outstanding performance. Williams is a friggin powerhouse of a performer, and this is one of her performances. Shit, you know what? Michelle Williams can be in anything, and I’ll be there with a "You Go Girl" banner to lift. The woman is amazing in this; She’s one of the best things about “The Greatest Showman”; She was literally Marilyn Monroe. I’m still mad that she lost the Oscar to Meryl Streep when she starred in “My Week With Marilyn” (who she will most likely go up against AGAIN this year because time always repeats itself apparently). Though her character Gail isn’t much of a developed character outside of a mom trying to get back her son who has to fight through; she is a relatable person that you root for all the way through.

Mark Wahlberg gives an excellent performance as not acting as Mark Wahlberg. But damn that Boston accent was so close to coming in and out now and then, and that is whenever someone looks at him wrong. When he gets heated, that Boston Wahlberg comes. He does his very best restraining it usually when he talks at a slow pace, but when the speed picks up, he isn't that far away from going WHATS UP BRO?!

LAST STATEMENT

With good performances from its leads especially from Plummer and Williams, “All the Money in the World” takes what could’ve been a standard Hollywood thriller and transform it into an intense film thanks to Scott’s direction and a laid out script by David Scarpa that slow and steady pace sometimes wins the race.

Rating: 4.5/5 | 92%

Super Scene: All ear.