One of the strange benefits of this lockdown is that I finally have time to catch up with a bunch of movies that I missed in theaters and didn’t have time to watch once they became available to stream.
It’s really nice not having to do anything but work on my screenwriting and catch up on movies and TV shows.
Having said that, All The Money In The World has been on my “To Watch List” for over two years….. I can’t believe it took me this long to watch it.
I am a huge fan and admirer of Ridley Scott as a filmmaker — He has made some of the most fascinating and brilliant films of the last 45 years. And I always get excited whenever I see his name involved in a project.
About a month away from this movie’s release date, Ridley Scott announced that he would recast Kevin Spacey’s role and reshoot all of his scenes entirely with Christopher Plummer as his replacement. It was a bold but necessary move by Scott.
Christopher Plummer is formidable in all his scenes, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. You have to pay close attention to notice any signs of adjustments to the original Spacey scenes.
Plummer plays the infamous J. Paul Getty, founder of the Getty Oil Company. From around the 1950s through his eventual death in 1976, Getty was considered to be the wealthiest man in the world.
This film is set in 1973 and centered around the kidnapping of Getty’s teenage grandson in Italy and the initial $17 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
Getty refuses to pay the kidnappers, insisting that if he paid for the ransom, then his other 14 grandkids could also be kidnapped and held for ransom. The kid’s mother, Gail (Michelle Williams), who at the time of the kidnapping is already divorced from John Paul Getty Jr. (Andrew Buchan). Gail is trying to raise the ransom money on her own — and the only thing J. Paul Getty can offer as help is to appoint his personal fixer Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg), to negotiate with the kidnappers.
Based on the 1995 book by John Pearson —Painfully Rich: the Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty. And even though the film is based on actual events, many liberties are being taken here, especially on a shootout scene between the mobsters involved in the kidnapping and the Italian police, which never took place.
There are a couple of scenes that further exemplify how blatantly cheap J. Paul Getty was, but one particular scene stands out, which showed how he had a payphone installed in his mansion for visitors to make phone calls, while his butler is ready to provide loose change in case someone needs coins to make a call.
All the Money in the World is an entertaining film, with outstanding performances by Plummer and Williams, whose combative relationship is at the very center of this story. I am curious whether there will be a director’s cut available at some point — I would love to watch it.
Three out of Five Popcorn Bags 🍿🍿🍿
All the Money in the World (2017).
Rod Rioja 