Money Monster - directed by Jodie Foster
Screenplay: Alan DiFiore & Jim Kouf
Music Score by: Dominic Lewis
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Edited by: Matt Chesse
Running Time: 99 minutes
Rated: M - Profanity and low level, infrequent violence
The latest directorial effort from Jodie Foster arrives looking a lot like a film that was one of her last few (and increasingly rare) acting gigs - "Inside Man".
No bad thing as far as I am concerned as she was very good in a very different role in that film and the entire project on the whole was rather good.
With "Money Monster" we have a movie with a few shared aspects.
It is a hostage drama centred on a disgruntled man and with a host of concerned parties circling around the thing all looking out for their own interests.
(Note that the two movies also share a cinematographer)
Even the poster looks a little similar to Spike Lee's 2006 thriller with its collection of star faces and red and white colour splashes.
In actuality "Money Monster" is a very different movie than "Inside Man" in that they are both 'about' different things thematically.
In the case of Foster's movie what this is is only fully revealed in a few telling moments late in the piece although in hindsight there are hints scattered along the way.
On the surface however this is the story of a disgruntled investor who sneaks inside a tv studio to disrupt the live broadcast of an awful investment advice show hosted by George Clooney's Lee Gates.
The man who is named Kyle (Jack O'Connell) is upset because he has lost $60,000 following Lee's advice and this money was every cent that he had.
Why you would take such vital advice from a man whose show features a range of idiotic moments such as Lee donning boxing gloves and a cape and dancing with a couple of models while screaming loudly about what a safe bet stock A is is beyond me.
After firing a pistol into the air to show that he means business Kyle places an explosive vest on Lee - a device that will explode if he takes his thumb off a button on the detonator.
It becomes apparent that Kyle doesn't want his money back - he wants answers as to where it went.
You may think we are about to go down a similar road to the excellent "The Big Short" here but no.
What we have instead is an attempt at satirising the sort of shallow 'entertainment' that the show at the centre of the film trades in and the publics obsession with it until the next one comes along.
Now the movie turns into a sort of "Network" meets "Inside Man" as the drama plays out live on air.
We have already witnessed the tension between director Patty (Julia Roberts) and Lee but now she must attempt to rein him in for reasons other than ratings.
Although ironically of course the show instantly gets its best ratings ever due to the real life drama unfolding in realtime.
And that is really what Foster is interested in here.
People are glued to their sets for as long as the screen entertains them. There is no real sense that anyone watching outside of the studio really cares about the plight of any of the parties involved.
This is made startlingly clear in a scene in which Lee pleads to his viewers for help - a small gesture from a few 'fans' would do.
There might be the vague feeling that a finger is being pointed squarely at the viewer here and I say that it is a fair cop.
We do live in a world where people get worked up about something bubbling over on their social media app du jour, site it as vitally important that something is done, post about it, tip a bucket of ice over their heads or whatever then promptly forget all about it.
Anyone remember Joseph Kony?
How about the Ice Bucket Challenge?
The No Makeup Challenge?
Yeah.... distant memories and two of three were designed to 'raise awareness' of issues.... not fix anything - just make people aware of things.
It enabled people to feel like they were good people without actually doing any good so I welcome anything that skewers this sort of awful crap.
"Money Monster" isn't the movie to do though I am sad to report.
It is fun and it is very well crafted with standout work from Foster and cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
I wasn't bored for even a second and the plot does maintain enough of a 'what happens next?' intrigue for most of its length.
And that is the main problem with the film.
It lost me several times at key moments.
Bizarrely humour is attempted several times at the worst possible moment.
Tension is defused with clumsily applied levity and it ruins what could have been a smart, tense thriller.
Clooney is all over the place too - one moment he is cowardly and self centred, the next brave and upstanding in his desire to do 'the right thing'.
Roberts' character comes off better.
Her Patty is a strong character in charge of everything in her life including the entire studio.
It is hard therefore to figure how she let the show she runs go so far off the rails that she has secretly made plans to leave.
And late in the play far too many plot turns seem just too hard to take.
A couple of characters decided on courses of action that are way out of left field.
The much hyped arrived of Kyle's girlfriend is not the decisive plot point that we may have hoped for and is instead of generating tension as it is clearly designed becomes a flat moment of unintentional humour.
I was smitten with the absolutely lovely Catriona Balfe and her melodic Irish accent for each and every second that she was on screen but not for a single second of it could I reconcile her determined career minded woman with the suddenly moral and defiant character that she became when it suited the plot.
By trying to make the movie about too many things and with a tone that desperately tries to change course to match the ever shifting concerns Foster delivers a fun and entertaining movie that is ultimately muddled and forgettable.
Ironic given the theme that it follows most often.
I wouldn't call it fluff- it is smart enough to avoid such labels and certainly well crafted enough.
But it is the obvious skill of all involved that makes the films failure so much more frustrating.
Had it concentrated on the money aspect and how little control the average person has over his or her own there could have been a smart, biting and very timely commentary on such things.
Even if the media angle and the publics hunger for the newest, most scandalous thing that is happening right now! had been more closely and effectively explored as a central theme it would have helped.
I say helped' because this sort of thing has already been terrifically well explored by the aforementioned "Network" and a host of other films subsequently.
I liked this film and I appreciated Fosters work as director in the way the film was constructed but not in how wildly out of control its tone and focus got.
There are few people in the entertainment industry that I admire and respect as much as Foster and I really, really wanted this to be a huge success for her and a driver for more work behind the camera.
Alas it wasn't to be but still - this is an interesting, well made and admittedly entertaining mis-fire.
RATING: 70 / 100
CONCLUSION: A Nicely crafted 'almost' movie that lacks thematic focus and strangely shoots itself in the foot at several of the key moments that should have defined it. Entertaining and not boring it will sadly nonetheless likely quickly be forgotten.
Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Denham, Lenny Venito, Chris Bauer, Dennis Boutsikaris, Emily Meade, Condola Rashad
Screenplay: Alan DiFiore & Jim Kouf
Music Score by: Dominic Lewis
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Edited by: Matt Chesse
Running Time: 99 minutes
Rated: M - Profanity and low level, infrequent violence
No bad thing as far as I am concerned as she was very good in a very different role in that film and the entire project on the whole was rather good.
With "Money Monster" we have a movie with a few shared aspects.
It is a hostage drama centred on a disgruntled man and with a host of concerned parties circling around the thing all looking out for their own interests.
(Note that the two movies also share a cinematographer)
Even the poster looks a little similar to Spike Lee's 2006 thriller with its collection of star faces and red and white colour splashes.
In actuality "Money Monster" is a very different movie than "Inside Man" in that they are both 'about' different things thematically.
In the case of Foster's movie what this is is only fully revealed in a few telling moments late in the piece although in hindsight there are hints scattered along the way.
On the surface however this is the story of a disgruntled investor who sneaks inside a tv studio to disrupt the live broadcast of an awful investment advice show hosted by George Clooney's Lee Gates.
The man who is named Kyle (Jack O'Connell) is upset because he has lost $60,000 following Lee's advice and this money was every cent that he had.
Why you would take such vital advice from a man whose show features a range of idiotic moments such as Lee donning boxing gloves and a cape and dancing with a couple of models while screaming loudly about what a safe bet stock A is is beyond me.
After firing a pistol into the air to show that he means business Kyle places an explosive vest on Lee - a device that will explode if he takes his thumb off a button on the detonator.
It becomes apparent that Kyle doesn't want his money back - he wants answers as to where it went.
You may think we are about to go down a similar road to the excellent "The Big Short" here but no.
What we have instead is an attempt at satirising the sort of shallow 'entertainment' that the show at the centre of the film trades in and the publics obsession with it until the next one comes along.
 |
| George Clooney with (left) Julia Roberts and (right) Jack O'Connell |
We have already witnessed the tension between director Patty (Julia Roberts) and Lee but now she must attempt to rein him in for reasons other than ratings.
Although ironically of course the show instantly gets its best ratings ever due to the real life drama unfolding in realtime.
And that is really what Foster is interested in here.
People are glued to their sets for as long as the screen entertains them. There is no real sense that anyone watching outside of the studio really cares about the plight of any of the parties involved.
This is made startlingly clear in a scene in which Lee pleads to his viewers for help - a small gesture from a few 'fans' would do.
There might be the vague feeling that a finger is being pointed squarely at the viewer here and I say that it is a fair cop.
We do live in a world where people get worked up about something bubbling over on their social media app du jour, site it as vitally important that something is done, post about it, tip a bucket of ice over their heads or whatever then promptly forget all about it.
Anyone remember Joseph Kony?
How about the Ice Bucket Challenge?
The No Makeup Challenge?
Yeah.... distant memories and two of three were designed to 'raise awareness' of issues.... not fix anything - just make people aware of things.
It enabled people to feel like they were good people without actually doing any good so I welcome anything that skewers this sort of awful crap.
 |
| Catriona Balfe - never has taking worried calls on a smartphone looked or sounded lovelier |
It is fun and it is very well crafted with standout work from Foster and cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
I wasn't bored for even a second and the plot does maintain enough of a 'what happens next?' intrigue for most of its length.
And that is the main problem with the film.
It lost me several times at key moments.
Bizarrely humour is attempted several times at the worst possible moment.
Tension is defused with clumsily applied levity and it ruins what could have been a smart, tense thriller.
Clooney is all over the place too - one moment he is cowardly and self centred, the next brave and upstanding in his desire to do 'the right thing'.
Roberts' character comes off better.
Her Patty is a strong character in charge of everything in her life including the entire studio.
It is hard therefore to figure how she let the show she runs go so far off the rails that she has secretly made plans to leave.
And late in the play far too many plot turns seem just too hard to take.
A couple of characters decided on courses of action that are way out of left field.
The much hyped arrived of Kyle's girlfriend is not the decisive plot point that we may have hoped for and is instead of generating tension as it is clearly designed becomes a flat moment of unintentional humour.
I was smitten with the absolutely lovely Catriona Balfe and her melodic Irish accent for each and every second that she was on screen but not for a single second of it could I reconcile her determined career minded woman with the suddenly moral and defiant character that she became when it suited the plot.
 |
| Director Jodie Foster with George Clooney (left) and Julia Roberts (right) |
Ironic given the theme that it follows most often.
I wouldn't call it fluff- it is smart enough to avoid such labels and certainly well crafted enough.
But it is the obvious skill of all involved that makes the films failure so much more frustrating.
Had it concentrated on the money aspect and how little control the average person has over his or her own there could have been a smart, biting and very timely commentary on such things.
Even if the media angle and the publics hunger for the newest, most scandalous thing that is happening right now! had been more closely and effectively explored as a central theme it would have helped.
I say helped' because this sort of thing has already been terrifically well explored by the aforementioned "Network" and a host of other films subsequently.
I liked this film and I appreciated Fosters work as director in the way the film was constructed but not in how wildly out of control its tone and focus got.
There are few people in the entertainment industry that I admire and respect as much as Foster and I really, really wanted this to be a huge success for her and a driver for more work behind the camera.
Alas it wasn't to be but still - this is an interesting, well made and admittedly entertaining mis-fire.
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