There aren’t enough thrillers in the cinemas these days. Lots of comedies, plenty of super hero films and quite a few horrors, intentional or otherwise. But thrillers? not so much.
‘Money Monster’ is a throwback to such films as ‘Seven’, ‘Psycho’ and ‘Silence of the Lambs’. It’s not as good as any of those classics, but it does at least attempt to move you closer to the edge of your seat. As Hitchcock said, two people having breakfast in public isn’t that riveting, but put a bomb under their table, and now I’m interested.
The film tells the story of Lee Gates (played by George Clooney) a bombastic TV personality whose popular financial network show has made him the money wiz of Wall Street. But after he promotes a high tech stock that mysteriously crashes, an irate investor takes Gates, his crew, and his ace producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) hostage live on air.
Unfolding in real time, Gates and Fenn must find a way to keep themselves alive while simultaneously uncovering the truth behind a tangle of big money lies.
The movie is clearly based on the real life CNBC show ‘Mad Money’, hosted by the unpleasant Jim Cramer, and so this is very much acting against type for the normally affable Clooney.
When you see him gyrating like a buffoon and salivating at his bling laden back-up dancers at the opening of the show, you need to remember this is really what Mad Money is like. It’s capitalism on speed, and the film’s director, Jodi Foster, is definitely taking a pop at capitalism.
Nearly 30 years on from the original ‘Wall Street’ movie, the message today seems to be greed ain’t just good, it’s everything.
It’s great to see the return of Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell is excellent as the ordinary guy who gets squashed by corporate America and decides to fight back.
An entertaining film that might just inspire you to rush home, dig out that old water bill, and ceremoniously rip it up. We score it a solid, and investable, 3.5 out of 5 stars.
REVIEW: Paul O’Rourke
