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MOVIE REVIEW: All the Money in the World

Garth Cremona (RIP)

The story of the richest man in the world who in the 1970’s had his Grandson kidnapped and refused to pay the ransom.  The Getty family or in this case John Paul Getty had amassed a fortune that no one could have imagined.  He was the first Billionaire and managed to retain this fortune by looking after the pennies as much as he looked after the pounds.  Making his millions by being shrewd and controlling the oil coming from the middle east he was proud of the ideals he held.  When his Grandson is kidnapped it is assumed he would cough up the 17 Million Dollar Ransom little did anyone know they were not dealing with a human.

If you ever want to know why trickle down economics will NEVER work all you have to do is watch this film.  People who only live to continue their own good fortune do not care about the lives of others.  Getty is a prime example for this, single minded and knowing every twist and turn of the system to make sure he can keep his cash, his own family are strangers to him.

At the same time as loathing him Christopher Plummer shows us something that is admirable about the man.  Taking the role on just before the film is released, replacing a deplorable, Plummer shows that he is a master of his craft.  Getty Snr is just a horrid person but you love to watch him on screen as Plummer steals every scene.  The actor who he replaced may have done a good job too, but frankly I think we would have confused him with another character that he portrayed on Netflix.  That who situation is well documented and you can just type it into google and you’ll have the downlow.

Ridley Scott masterfully takes on the story and transports us through the life of Getty to show that he’s a harsh man to do business with.  The kidnapping itself of the young man is a brilliant story that leaves you on the edge of your seat, where a simple biopic of Getty may have been too much, and the rest of the cast are all on their top form which gives you more love for the movie.

I can see Plummer being award awarded but there should also be a lot of nominations for the whole production and the supporting cast of Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg.  They aren’t really the supporting cast, they are all on an even footing, but you’ll understand what I mean when  you watch the film.  Wahlberg is at his best here, probably the best thing he’s done since The Departed, while Williams is channeling Jackie O as the boys mother who is desperately trying to get her Father in Law, Getty, to pay up.  Wahlberg is Getty’s go to man for negotiating and is sent in without budget to help get the boy back.

There are twists and turns, and laughs and anger, everything that you want in a film.  The real life story of Getty just comes alive, the greed, I’m sure one Christmas he was visited by three ghosts but just didn’t care.  Having not known too much about the real story behind this film I was sitting there in the press show and was kept in that state of tension to hope that the young man survives for the entire film.  There is one moment in the film where the violence would make Reservoir Dogs blush so be weary.  This is a great time in the cinema, and I want to see it again on release in Ireland, but for some of you out there it’s already in Cinema’s.  Treat yourself folks.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: David Scarpa, John Pearson (based on the book by)
Stars: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg & more… See full cast & crew

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Garth Cremona (RIP)
Comic book creator and movie reviewer. You can find out more at www.dublinwriter.com
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