Money Monster
Director - Jodie Foster
Cast - George Clooney, Jack O’Connell, Julia Roberts
Rating - 3/5
Hey, we live in an angry world. It’s not an ideal truth, but it’s an undeniable one. Jodie Foster’s new movie Money Monster feels your anger. For a good hour, it rages on – against banks, corporations, evil businessmen and even TV journalists. In Jack O’Connell, it creates possibly one of the most enraged protagonists you’ll see this year. But it squanders it all - and what for? Just for that extra applause, that extra fist pump, and yes – that extra money.
This isn’t a particularly intelligent movie. But I think it knows that. So if you’re worried about it being another The Big Short, alienatingly cerebral, it is not. It is, however – at least for an hour – a thrilling hostage drama. Think Phone Booth meets The Taking of Pelham 123 crossed with a tiny bit of A Wednesday. But, cripplingly preoccupied with sticking it to The Man, in its third act, it drops - like it’s the recession all over again. It takes turns that are so preposterous, even that always dependable excuse ‘It’s only a movie’ can’t save it.
But it works more often than it doesn’t. And that’s entirely the doing of the cast. George Clooney and Julia Roberts can pull off material like this in their sleep. But it’s a Jack O’Connell show. For those of you who’ve seen him in Skins or the Irish thriller 71, you’ll agree with me that this young actor is meant for great things.
As for the film, as long as you don’t go in expecting a critical indictment of Wall Street, and accept it for what it is – a pulpy B-movie – it’s going to be an immensely satisfying couple of hours. Or hour.
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The author tweets @NaaharRohan
