New Film Review: All The Money In The World

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
Directed by Ridley Scott
Screenplay by David Scarpa
Based on the book by John Pearson
Starring Michelle Williams; Christopher Plummer;Romain Duris and Mark Wahlberg



A little long, but you cannot peal your eyes away.
Yes this is the film that edited a major star playing a major character out of the film, and kind of CGI'd Christopher Plummer in. To be honest I was a bit distracted trying to figure out if I can tell if Plummer is not in the scene really.
Well this is a story that is based on the true story of the kidnapping of J Paul Getty's grandson.

My thoughts on the story?
I would love to know what part is "based on".
I question whether Gail Harris (mother of kidnapped son) was running around at night trying to find her son in the dark corners of Italy.
So what is true?
I do not know. However it does a good job of showing the stress behind the scenes of negotiating with kidnappers. So you have that.
It also shows the greed of Getty. He flat out says you can never have enough money. So giving it up is not easy. Including paying the ransom for his grandson.
As for the characters and the acting?
Michelle Williams as Gail Harris. I hear a lot of awards buzz for her. I am not feeling it. Her New England twang is kind of bad...going in and out.
Mark Wahlberg as Fletcher Chase. Wahlberg is not bad here in this drama. He holds his own. It is just that his character just takes up space. I guess he is our eyes and ears. But a little unnecessary.
Now plummer is really good. Love to hate him. I imagine he is playing up against no one often because of the switch in leads. He is very good.
The shining star here is Romain Duris as Cinquanta...one of the kidnappers. No spoilers here, he is fantastic...just saying.

I would give 3 out of 5 stars for All The Money In The World. It is an interesting story. Not as intense as you hope. I respect Ridley Scott for going after a different kind of story then he usually does. It is worth a look when it comes out for home viewing, but I would pass on it at the theater.

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.