All The Money In the World

All The Money in the World is the story of the 1973 kidnapping of J. Paul Getty’s grandson, Paul, in Italy.  Getty, an oil tycoon, at the time was the world’s richest man.  The film explores the kidnapping, its effects on Gail, Paul’s mother, and the protracted attempts by Gail and Fletcher Chase, one of Getty’s negotiators, to secure Paul’s release. 

Getty’s response to the kidnapping is reminiscent of the 1996 film Ransom, in that he refuses to pay the ransom.  At first Getty is apparently being true to his notoriously thrifty reputation but he has another reason as well.  As he has 14 grandchildren he is afraid of setting a precedent for future kidnappings.  Quietly Getty assigns Chace the task of working with the kidnappers and also with Gail.  The relationship between Gail and Getty is strained because Gail divorced Getty’s son (due to a drug addiction) and took custody of the kids in return for refusing any kind of alimony.  Gail’s independence has kept Getty being able to use his money to control her but he also reveals that he despises that she took his kids away. 

A large portion of the film focuses on a relationship that develops between Paul and Cinquanta, one of the kidnappers, who are part of the Italian mob.  Cinquanta connects with Paul after accidentally showing Paul his face.  He starts to care for Paul and tries to ensure that Paul is treated humanely.  While the strain on Paul’s family is expected the film also shows that the extended negotiations take a toll on the kidnappers who are forced to remain in a remote area for much longer than expected.  The Danish film, A Hijacking, showed a similar dynamic and the unexpected patience required for all parties under the most strenuous of circumstances.   After Paul escapes (aided passively by Cinquanta who sees but does not pursue Paul) and is then recaptured Paul is sold to another crime family who is much more severe with him and with the negotiators.

When the possibility that Paul may have had himself kidnapped surfaces Getty is only too happy to believe it.  This line of thinking is a good explanation for Gail’s desire to keep her kids away from the Getty family after her divorce. 

All the Money in the World was directed by Ridley Scott, the prolific director almost as old as Getty is during the film with a typical quick pace and attention to production design.  Scott hurriedly moves us through the earlier sections which establish up how Getty acquired his wealth and the family dynamics.  As the negotiations go on Scott keeps it moving by switching perspectives often and is helped by Daniel Pemberton’s energetic varied score which keeps the tension up.  Scott is most known for directing Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, and more recently The Martian and two Alien prequels (Prometheus and Alien: Covenant).  Although a lot of Scott’s recent press is on the Alien prequels I find this film far more interesting than either of those.

The film stars Michelle Williams as Gail, Mark Walhberg as Fletcher Chase, French actor Romain Duris as Cinquanta and Christopher Plummer as Getty.  Williams as Gail uses a mid-Atlantic accent and portrays her complicated emotions as she is concerned, pragmatic and determined.  Williams can always be counted on to deliver a complex performance (see her work in Brokeback Mountain, Manchester by the Sea and Shutter Island) Wahlberg is understated as Chace often not openly showing his emotions, which is a benefit for a negotiator.  Duris captures the balance of the tough but more humane kidnapper who also negotiates with Chase.

Plummer has the film’s featured performance as Getty.  Getty is used to being in control and while this has given him great success it keeps people from loving him.  In return I think he is frustrated that people only see and want his money rather than dealing with him on his own.   Getty is both caring, giving his son a job when he desperately needs it, and cold.  Near the end of the film he reveals his biggest pain when he says to himself that Gail took his grandchildren from them.  While this might seem ironic as he gave them little priority in his personal life he probably had kept them at a distance to protect himself from that pain. 

I hope the film, and Plummer’s performance, are eventually better remembered for its impact in the film than for Plummer’s last minute casting after Kevin Spacey, who originally played Getty, was accused of sexual harassment by a multitude of people about six weeks before the film was due to premiere.  Scott famously reshot all of Getty’s scenes with Plummer in less than two weeks and had the film ready on time.  While I can imagine Spacey chewing the scenery as Getty a heavy makeup job to age Spacey might have been distracting from an otherwise gimmick free film. 

For sure this film plays better than the sixth season of House of Cards which also rightfully scuttled Spacey after the scandal broke.  Apart from the bad publicity Spacey’s presence on the set was making production employees vulnerable to his predatory instincts.  The other characters, primarily Robin Wright’s Claire and Michael Kelly’s Doug Kelly, took over the lead roles and Spacey’s central character of Frank Underwood was killed offscreen.  The result was a hastily rewritten and ultimately anticlimactic season that was an unfortunate end to Netflix’s first series.

Spoilers abound so please be aware:

The film seems to be based on true events but not completely faithful to them.  Getty did not die alone in his mansion (a la Citizen Kane) the night of Paul’s recovery but rather a couple of years later.  It does make for a nice symmetry as both Paul and his grandfather are freed in a way at the same time. 

The final sequence, in which Paul is hunted by the kidnappers and there is suspense as to whether Fletcher and Gail will find him first feels contrived.  There is an unexpected twist as Cinquanta takes out one of the kidnappers instead of Fletcher, who due to Wahlberg’s casting would have been the most obvious choice.

The first time I saw this film I admit that instead of focusing completely on the story unfolding I spent a lot of time wondering how Christopher Plummer appears so frequently.  It is impressive how quickly Ridley Scott and his team re-filmed most of the shots in which Getty appears (which are spread throughout the film and total over 20 scenes) and cut and mixed them into the finished film.  Most of Plummer’s scenes are indoors but it also would have involved recreating sets and of course recruiting the other members of the cast who appear in scenes with him.  I think Scott has a similar work ethic as Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood.  Each, while they have different strengths, are known for running well organized sets, shooting few takes, and reusing a lot of the same crew so each project has a consistency and flow. The actors tend to give fresher performances because they are working more on instinct and less on craft. 

In conclusion All the Money in the World is a fine thriller that I am happy to recommend.  I look forward to Scott’s next work. ***