All the Money in the World (2017)

All the Money in the World is based on a true story but the more interesting news about this film is the fact that just six weeks before it was due to be released, Ridley Scott chose to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer so that the film would be released. The film tells the story of Jean-Paul Getty Jr who is kidnapped and held for a $17 million ransom but his grandfather Jean-Paul Getty who at this time is the richest man in the world wont pay a penny. Mark Wahlberg is tasked with finding him.

There’s a moment at the beginning of the film where Plummer tells a story about a Minotaur statue is worth $1.2 million but later on when Michelle Williams wants to sell it to raise some money realises that they are sold in a gift shop. This is quite a downbeat moment just when you think things are starting to go well. There is always a sense that Wahlberg and Williams are just one step behind finding Getty Jr. If I had one issue is that I think it drags on a little bit too long. 

The performances are astonishing. I think that Christopher Plummer is the star of this film and bearing in mind how little time he had to prepare for this role, its amazing that the performances as the way it is. Imagine what he could have done if he had been given more time. I like the character because he is obsessed with money and there is a great scene where he is talking about how he spent an hour negotiating with some market trader just to save a couple of dollars. Mark Walhberg is one of those actors who has a rather chequered career. When he’s bad he is in films like The Happening and when he’s good, he is in films like this. Michelle Williams also deserves a lot of credit because she spends 80% of the movie being looking for her son so there aren’t any laughs to be had. 

This isnt the sort of film you would expect Ridley Scott to direct really. Its very grounded in reality and when you think of Ridley Scott you think Alien or The Martian or something other worldly. Despite this being one of the most grounded films I think he has ever done, its still a brilliantly told story and Scott does a good job of increasing the tension as the film progresses. I would like to see the Kevin Spacey version just to see how different it would be but I think that the decision to replace Spacey was the right one so that the film could be released but also that Plummer was brilliant and made the film even better. This is a brilliant film and I think it might be one of Ridley Scott’s best films. Not quite on par with Alien but pretty close.