All the Money in the World

All the Money in the World

Starring Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Plummer

Directed by Ridley Scott

The Story:
On July 10, 1973, young John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) was kidnapped in Rome.  His kidnappers call his mother Gail (Michelle Williams) demanding $17 million dollars.  While Gail is just a poor single mother, her former father-in-law is John Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), the richest man in America, owner of the Getty Oil Company.  When he finds out the kidnappers' demands, he refuses to pay a dime, but instead enlists former CIA operative Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) to find him.  As time passes, Paul's predicament grows more dire, and Gail's patience runs thin.  If Getty doesn't pay the ransom, Paul will die.

The Synopsis:
When a film is based on a true story, I typically don't go into it thinking I'll get a completely accurate historical lesson, but to be entertained.  While "All the Money in the World" does tell the true story of John Paul Getty III's kidnapping, there's obvious additions to the script that allows for a more dramatic performance.  While it doesn't detract from the story, it could've been toned down a bit, especially in the middle.  Still, a combination of an award-winning director, three solid performances, and beautiful set pieces and costume designs teleported me to the 70s and during a tumultuous time in the lives of the richest family in the world.

John Paul Getty earned his massive fortune (he was worth $1.2 billion dollars, which is about $8.86 billion today) by founding the Getty Oil Company, and he was a known frugal - someone even Ebenezer Scrooge would deem too misery.  He would do his own laundry at a hotel to avoid paying an employee to do it.  He spent an hour haggling a merchant to purchase a Minotaur artifact from $19 dollars down to $11 - then saying he could auction it off for over $1 million.  He held priceless artistic masterpieces under stairwells.  And when his grandson - someone of his own flesh and blood, a young boy Getty himself said he loved - was kidnapped and held for $17 million dollars ransom, Getty refused to pay. 

Nowadays, doctors would say Getty suffered from some sort of mental illness, or maybe even a sociopathic  disorder.  He valued money above all things, and cherished his artifacts and paintings more than his blood relatives.  He was an absolutely detestable man, yet he was hailed as a master genius in the art of making money, and he hoarded it all, because he was fearful he could loose it all someday.  He was truly a slave to his money, and apparently never heard the phrase "you can't take it with you when you go."

This type of heavily dramatic film is carried by the lead actors.  If they fail to perform to the best of their ability, the film becomes a snooze-fest with unemotional characters and a wasted script.  Thankfully, the three leads - Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, and Charlie Plummer (no relation) - perform solid, knockout performances, and undoubtedly two of them will be mentioned come Oscar time.

While Mark Wahlberg also performs well, his part is very minimal and lacks the emotional depth of the others, which makes sense because he's the outside observer.  As the man Getty hires to find his grandson, he serves nothing more than to give the typical directions of a police officer (it's also pretty obvious his character never existed in real life, but was a bigger part that was added to tell the story).  Charlie Plummer plays the part of John Paul Getty III in a very emotional way.  He starts out the film as a rebellious, snobby rich kid, but during his kidnapping he's humbled and goes through literal hell.  Plummer manages to play both extremes well.  Yet it's Michelle Williams and Christopher Plummer who more than hold their own, and both command the screen in vastly different ways.

Michelle Williams plays Getty's former daughter-in-law, now single mother who divorced her husband (Getty's son) due to his chronic alcohol and drug abuse.  She doesn't have any money, and in desperation turns to the misery Getty to pay for her son's ransom.  When he refuses to pay, she exhausts all other efforts to find her son, and all the while leads with a steely resolve and rough exterior, not allowing herself to break down and cry.  She needs to be strong for herself and her son, and Michelle Williams hits another homerun.

When the film was originally released, director Ridley Scott had Kevin Spacey in the role of J. Paul Getty, but after his sexual abuse allegations surfaced, Scott fired Spacey and brought in Christopher Plummer to re-shoot all his parts.  In just nine short days - unheard of in film - Scott brought in all the original players and Plummer to re-shoot all the scenes.  For all intents and purposes, this film was doomed to fail - if Spacey was kept on, no one would've seen it.  If Scott recast with Plummer, it could've ended in disaster if the editing was rushed and it looked too jumbled.  Yet Plummer, always the professional, tackled this monumental task and not only did he save the film, but he made it even better.

His portrayal of J. Paul Getty is the stuff of legend, and seeing him command the screen with his icy glare and unsympathetic tone sent chills down my spine.  For a man who said he loved his grandson, he went out of his way it seemed to see the young man die.  Even though $17 million to most of us would be an impossible sum, to him it was like digging through your couch cushions to find spare change, yet he wouldn't pay.  He's already been nominated for a Golden Globe, and Oscar will undoubtedly come knocking at his door.  It's no wonder he's a living legend in cinema, his performances are always top notch and memorable, and Getty will go in history as one of his best.

If there's one downside to the film, I would say it's the length.  At over two hours, the film could've been trimmed down (especially in the middle, where it lagged in some aspects) to make a more solid film, but even in the down time I was still riveted with what was going to happen next.  That's the testament to Ridley Scott's direction, David Scarpa's script, and the performances of the main actors.

The Summary:
Proving that the love of money is the root of all evil, Ridley Scott's "All the Money in the World" proves that money can't buy you happiness, and even with all the money in the world, you can still be a terrible human being.

The Score: A