JOIN USAll the money in the world
English (U/A)
Cast: Christopher Plummer, Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg
Director: Ridley Scott
Rating: ***
If someone had asked Ridley Scott what his version of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941) would look like, his answer may have been 'All the money in the world'.
The movie is about the real-life J Paul Getty, who was the richest man who ever lived, and arguably one of the most frugal. His 16-year-old grandson, who was named after him and was allegedly his favourite grandchild, gets kidnapped and he simply refuses to pay the ransom.
Seconds before Getty's daughter-in-law Abigail (Michelle Williams) meets him for the first time, she asks her son not to touch anything in the house (Getty's) because they may be "priceless", and we suddenly hear his voice booming from the other room.
In the next frame, we do not see him, but only a line of clothes drying inside a room - a sight very unbecoming of the palatial dimensions of the house (he washes them that way to save money). In what feels like a parody of God calling out to Moses from Mount Sinai, Getty's voice calls out, "I don't like that word - priceless. It may be invaluable, yes, but what's priceless?"
Getty is a selfish, greedy man, whose recognition of the potential of the oil from West Asia may have helped shape modern economy, but his madness for money makes him tragically alone. And Plummer plays the role to perfection.
Getty realises that his empire is not one with peers in modern history. He yearns for a spiritual connect with old Roman emperors. He feels at home in the ruins of their palaces, and by the end of the movie, we realise he imagines himself one of them.
The movie has advertised itself as a kidnap-thriller - one of those flicks that promises to keep us on the edge of our seats. The kidnap and the ensuing chase, which makes up for most of the movie's running time, is exactly what makes the movie feel long and drab. Even Michelle Williams at the top of her game does not help.
The kidnap plotline is interesting only as far as it sheds light into Getty's dark soul. It is ironic that we leave yearning for more of the movie after we'd been hoping it would end sooner, but that is only because the time could have been used to flesh out Getty better.
His tragic flaw, his love for money and valuables, is not an original. There he counts Ebenezer Scrooge and Shylock as ancestors. In his decline, he is a brother to Charles Foster Kane. They both come to conclusion that even with Xanadus at their feet, Rosebuds are what they need.