Money Monster, Review: Spend on it

Money makes the world go round. It can also drive a man round the bend! Jodie Foster’s financial thriller, Money Monster, juxtaposes TV ratings and credibility with Wall Street stock fixers. It also pitches a John Doe like victim against the establishment, in a battle of wits, and of lives. Heart-rending and irreverent in varying measures, the film is well worth investing your time and money in.

Cable TV’s cocky Wall Street financial guru Lee Gates (George Clooney) hosts a regular show called Money Monster, in which he gives tips to prospective investors.  Less than 24 hours before the film begins, IBIS Global Capital's stock inexplicably plummeted, a phenomenon that was attributed to a glitch in a trading algorithm (computer software equation), costing its investors $800 million. Lee planned to have IBIS’s CEO, Walt Camby (Dominic West) appear for an interview, about the crash, but Camby unexpectedly left for a business trip in Geneva, on his private jet.

Midway through the show, a man carrying some packages and looking like a delivery guy, ambles on to the set, pulls a gun, and takes Gates hostage. He then forces him to put on a vest, laden with explosives, the kind used by suicide bombers. The ‘delivery-man’ is labourer Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell), who invested $60,000--his entire wealth, recently inherited from his deceased mother--in IBIS, following a tip from Lee, a month earlier. Kyle was financially wiped out, along with the other investors, and now wants to know who or what was really responsible. Unless he gets satisfactory answers, he threatens to blow up Lee, before killing himself. Once police are notified, they discover that the receiver to the bomb's vest is located over Lee's kidney. The only way to destroy the receiver--and with it, Kyle's leverage--is to shoot, and possibly, kill Lee.

With the help of long-time director Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts), Lee tries to calm Kyle down, and get him some answers. However, Camby is nowhere to be found, and Kyle is not satisfied when both Lee and IBIS Chief Communications Officer, Diane Lester (Caitriona Balfe), promise to reimburse him, even reward him. He, also, is not satisfied by Diane's insistence that the algorithm is indeed to blame. Diane gets suspicious herself, and decides to contact the programmer who created the algorithm, for answers, reaching an IT man in Seoul. The programmer insists that the algorithm is glitch-free, and that someone had to have physically meddled with it for it to go wrong. In the meantime, the police find Kyle's pregnant girl-friend, and allow her to talk to Kyle, through a video feed. When she learns that he lost everything, she viciously berates him, before the police cut the feed. Lee, now taking pity on him, agrees to fully help Kyle discover what went wrong. And all this is happening live, on TV!

Jamie Linden (10 Years, Dear John, We Are Marshall) reportedly wrote the final version. Alan Di Fiore (A Fork in the Road, TV) and Jim Kouf (Rush Hour, Taxi, National Treasure; used two other screen-names) did the first drafts. Most of the events unfold like a stage play, being shot for TV, which, in many ways, it is. Characters are really well-developed, and remain in character. Gates (interesting surname, isn’t it?) is reportedly modelled after real-life stock expert Jim Cramer (read below). Two female parts very creatively delineated: Molly and Diane. Molly’s approach to the drama playing out and Diane’s conscientious and gutsy sleuthing are good examples of competent screen-writing.

Proceedings do get farcical at times, but never so much as to detract from the plot substantially. Stock tip shows are a regular feature in many countries, including India, but I am not aware how many countries insist on statutory warnings/disclaimers being incorporated in all such advertisements and programmes, like India does. Whether such cautioning advisories, like those on cigarette packets, are effectively helpful in protecting bodily health, or financial well-being, can be debated. What is an undisputed fact is that betting and stock investments have ruined millions worldwide, just as they have made millionaires and billionaires of quite a few. Speculative investment as a topic has been hot for centuries, and remains so, in 2016.

Directed by Alicia Christian ‘Jodie’ Foster (53 going on 54), Money Monster is NOT her debut film. Since 1988, she has directed several TV episodes and four features. Foster hasn’t been seen on screen since 2013, when she starred in Elysium, and has said repeatedly that she enjoys directing much more than acting. This 98 min. foray proves why. Except for the exterior shots, of people watching TV in various places, the disjointed shots of other countries (perfectly linked together in the end) and the dull scenes of the long walk in the end, she is in tight command of the unfolding twists. Casting is near perfect, though it would be interesting to know why she picked so many British.  Clooney, just a year-and-a-half her senior, is well-suited, and you can see why he was the first actor she picked. Some of the lesser known players shine as well.

George Clooney (turned 55 last week; Gravity, The Monuments Men, Tomorrowland) has lost none of his charm and gently assertive persona. Julia Roberts (born in Georgia, of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Swedish descent; Mirror Mirror, August: Osage County, Mother’s Day) is tried and trusted material, who can rarely go wrong. A pleasant surprise is Jack O'Connell (mother English, father Irish; 300: Rise of an Empire, '71, Starred Up), who speaks with a slight Irish accent. As the villain who gets footage only towards the end, Dominic West (British; Hannibal Rising, 300, Johnny English Reborn, Genius) keeps both his false exterior and subsequent unmasking underplayed.

Caitriona Balfe (Irish; The Price of Desire, Escape Plan, Now You See Me) will win quite a few fans, and maybe some good roles, after this outing. Cast as a quintessential America cop, and yet far from a hack, is Giancarlo Esposito (Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito, born in Copenhagen, Italian father, African-American mother; Rabbit Hole, Scorch Trials, voice of Akela in Jungle book). As Lenny, the cameraman, willing to risk his life on the job, Lenny Venito (War of the Worlds, men in Black II, St. Vincent) is a natural. Baddie’s ‘yes man’, Dennis Boutsikaris (The Perfect You, Cherry Crush, The Bourne Legacy) looks one and plays the part satisfactorily. Good golly, Miss Molly, Emily Meade (26; Charlie, Trevor and a Girl Savannah , Me Him Her, That Awkward Moment, Gimme Shelter) has some talent going.

Jodie Foster has had a tumultuous life, playing a child prostitute, being stalked by crazed fans, one of whom attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan and her various lesbian relationships, including a recent same sex wedding. Let none of it weigh on you as you head for the nearest theatre that is showing Money Monster. Right now, that is the only thing worth taking stock of.

Rating: *** ½

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr_nGAbFkmk                       

Jim Cramer: From the CNBC website

Jim Cramer believes there is always a bull market somewhere, and he wants to help you find it. He is host of CNBC's "Mad Money," (M-F, 6PM ET) featuring lively guest interviews, viewer calls and most important, the unmatched, fiery opinions of Cramer himself. He serves as the viewer's personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing—navigating through both opportunities and pitfalls with one goal in mind—to help them make money.