Tuesday 31 May 2016

Money Monster (15)

The financial crisis has, if nothing else, given us quite a lot of new culture to get to grips with.

From the vast array of books covering all the angles we have been flooded with films - both documentaries and dramas - detailing who did what to who and when.

So, you may have lost everything and the rich may have got richer - but at least you've been entertained...



Now to the assembled masses of a genre we really could have done without creating we can add Money Monster - but is there anything left to say about the whole shitstorm?

Well, apparently so.

Because instead of dealing with the bankers or the officials or the politicians, Money Monster deals with the real people who got hit.

OK, real people is a bit of a stretch when one of them is a TV finance guy, but you get my point.

Money Monster tells the tale of Kyle (the ever excellent Jack O'Connell), a man who managed to lose everything after following the advice of Lee Gates - the disenchanted star of a TV finance show.

Gates (played wonderfully by George Clooney) is not to blame for the stock plummeting or Kyle's dumb misfortune, but he's the public face of a problem so that's where the gun gets pointed as Kyle shouts for answers.

From here, two films kind of emerge.

There's the straight thriller, as Gates is strapped in a bomb vest and Kyle waves the trigger about like a flag at a rally - and there's the mystery thriller, as show director/producer Patty (Julia Roberts clearly having a great time) sets about finding out how a company's stock went south so fast.

The two strands are deftly woven by Jodie Foster, once again stepping behind the camera to remind you she's as good a director as she is an actor.

And that's just one of the many strengths of this film.

It has a star director. It has star names. Huge, huge star names.

And yet, the real star of the show is the story. The drama unfolds naturally and you are taken on a tense rollercoaster littered with chuckles to allow you some respite.

And nothing is overblown. All performances are measured, the story is kept taut and, bar one unsubtle shot, the film is as tight as a tight thing that's been thoroughly tightened...

It's almost old fashioned.

And that's it's greatest strength.

The characters, the narrative, the plot twists - they're all allowed to just 'be', to unfold, to do their job.

There's no car chases, no running about (OK, apart from that one guy), no endless explosions and shoot-outs. It's just... Oh what's the word...

Entertaining! That's it!

It has laughs, tension, plight, a baddie - and for 90-odd minutes, you can just relax and have a great time.

Everyone knows their job and delivers to perfection. It looks great, the soundtrack is wonderfully understated and well used, Clooney is doing proper acting - it's simply a bloody good film.

Which, in a world of superlatives, seems like a somewhat underwhelming thing to say.

But it's true.

Money Monster has things to say about the financial crisis, but it also has something to say about how we live our lives today - how we react to things, how the news covers things, how quickly we move on.



Money Monster won't change your life. It won't answer the questions you probably should be asking about how the markets work (or don't).

But what it will do is entertain you.

You'll be gripped, you'll chuckle, you'll enjoy yourself and you'll have something to talk about on the way back to the car.

And then you'll forget all about it. Because, well, you're human and it's what we do...

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