The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Meeting an intriguingly captivating character, even in the fictional world, is a rare occurrence, one that makes you want to delve into the character’s world.

Starring Christopher Plummer, Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg, All the Money in the World became an especially highly anticipated feature, after Kevin Spacey was fired from playing the leading role (due to infamous allegations made against him).

The film tells the tale of Jean Paul Getty (Plummer), the wealthiest man in the history of the world, with a grandson who is abducted for ransom. The boy’s mother (Williams) seeks Getty’s help to pay the 17-million-dollar ransom; Getty refuses, despite her constant persistence. Instead, Getty appoints Fletcher Chase, a former CIA agent, to help retrieve the boy in the “most inexpensive” way possible.

As far as expectations go, the film’s trailer and initial plot line promise audiences a captivating thriller that will place them on the edge of their seats. The reality, however, proved to be a bit different. While the film did possess some intense moments (such as a very graphic literal ear cutting scene), it was also home to several “get to it already” moments. On the one hand, the film’s slow pace gave it a bit of realism; on the other hand, we would have happily exchanged the film’s slow pace and few thrilling moments, for a more classic 130-minute fast-paced full fledged thriller feature.

Christopher Plummer’s portrayal of Getty was impeccable, making audience members not only forget about the whole Kevin Spacey issue, but also making them remember his masterful performance and realistic portrayal of Getty. Unfortunately, the film’s slow pace affected character development, thereby ensuring that injustice was done to all the film’s actors, including Plummer. The slow pace did allot time for dramatic slow motion sequences, repetitive parallelism, and long waiting scenes. The film, however, did not allot enough time towards delving into the nature and character motivations behind each of the protagonists.

Indeed, there was time for plot stretches, that at times caused a total lag, but not for deeper insight into Getty ‘s motivations as a character, his feelings as a human being, and his reasons for developing into the person he has become. Seeing that Getty was the most interesting of characters – and arguably the most interesting part of the entire film – his character development (or lack thereof) was quite a huge disappointment.

Michelle Williams’ performance reflected the perfect balance between that of a mother who was worried sick about her child’s absence, and a persistent, somewhat held together woman. The film’s slow pace, however, effected how her character was perceived. As a direct result of the film’s plot being stretched, the mother looked like she was not doing that much for her son, or that she lacked the sense of urgency natural to the situation.

Mark Wahlberg’s performance is as ambiguous as the character he plays: Fletcher Chase. Wahlberg seemed to be trying to break out of the kickass action stereotype he has fallen into, but his flat performance was mediocre at best. This mediocre performance may also be attributed to the fact that he was playing the least developed character in the film. Chase is practically useless, for the most part, doing close to nothing towards actually helping retrieve the boy like he was hired to do. He is also supposed to be an ex-CIA agent, who is closing deals for Getty, yet he somehow ends up sympathizing with the mother, and risks his job, for this unfounded sympathy; we say ‘unfounded’ as there are no clear motivations behind his aforementioned sympathy. All in all, while there was an attempt to present Chase as a multidimensional character, Wahlberg’s execution of Chase alongside the non-existent character development, ensured that the character ended up being incomprehensible, and implausible.

Watching this film is not a regretful experience, the film was just a bit too flawed for our expectations of it.  We have to say, however, that the film’s story line – no matter how slow and/or not so greatly executed– was still interesting. Not to mention the fact that the film contained one of the most intriguing characters we have seen in a while, courtesy of Christopher Plummer. Definitely watch and make sure to cherish every Getty moment.