vijaychandrank
This movie is one of old classy types where tension is built around dialogues and the predicament characters find themselves in. Christopher plummer is riveting as a greedy billionaire who thinks about evading tax in every walk of his life and want to be in control of everything he sees. Michelle williams is terrific as a caring mother and not the usual dumb potrayals you normally find in these kind of movies. She is smart, witty and sees hope even in darker moments . The scene where she asks "Do they want me to cry?" potrays the real emotion people go through in situations like these. Mark wahlberg is more of a cliched character where you can predict pretty much what he will do. There are intense scenes in second half where the kid acted really well and you felt the pain character went through. Even though its a serious film, you might find humor in traces which made sure its an enjoyable watch.
ManOfKino
The grandson of J. P. Getty, history's richest man, was kidnapped in 1973. The kidnappers hoped that the old man would pay up to free him, but he proved to be miserly and uncaring beyond their and his family's beliefs.All the Money in the World is purported to be based on real events, however the extent to which this is true is unclear. It seems that some of the most central characters in the film, such as the sympathetic kidnapper who becomes the grandson's reluctant guardian, and the ex-CIA agent helping Getty's daughter-in-law, never existed as such. However, these things aren't the greatest problems of this film. Rather the problems are that there is almost no suspense, that it fails to maintain a consistent tone from scene to scene (which make the rather numerous attempts at humour fail) and that the central character of J. P. Getty is basically pushed aside, since we never really understand what made him become how he was in terms of personality. We also don't see what happens after the arduous crisis depicted in the film reaches its conclusion.As a whole, All the Money in the World felt very pointless to me. While the direction bears some marks of the once-great director, and there aren't many complaints to be had about the acting, one can't help but wonder what good these are when the core of the work is so empty.
bbewnylorac
Christopher Plummer gives an apppropriately icy turn as the mean billionaire J Paul Getty, who claims to love his grandson Paul, yet won't pay the ransom to free him after he is kidnapped. In the hands of the ruthless Italian mafia, Paul, played with moving vulnerability by Charlie Plummer, is kept imprisoned in a cave and has his ear cut off. Director Ridley Scott doesn't spare us the gory procedure. It shows how soulless and inhuman the kidnappers are. They cook for their families and dance and don't care that Paul is suffering. Interestingly, like Getty, all they care about is money. The cinematography, both in Italy and at Getty's mansion in England, is mostly washed out and grey, as if to reflect the poor state of the characters' souls. As the private detective Getty hires to find Paul, Mark Wahlberg is a little confusing. He starts off as a faithful Getty servant but later turns on him - swearing at him, which I find hard to believe he would do.
Paul's mother Gail is the moral centre of the film and with her ex husband, Paul's father JP junior, a drug addled mess, Gail is a tower of strength. As Gail, Michelle Williams is intelligent and understated. Gail actually loves her son, and unlike so many others, will step up and fight to get him back. It's really sad that Getty wasn't able to use his wealth for good. He shirked his duty to his family, and missed out on a lot of love in return, as the scene of a boy Paul, holding Getty's hand as they go through some Roman ruins.
SnoopyStyle
It's 1973. One night, 16 year old John Paul Getty III is kidnapped off the streets of Rome. The kidnappers want $17 million. His mother Gail (Michelle Williams) has nothing. Her ex-husband is a drug addict but it's ex-father-in-law, Jean Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), who is the richest man in the world. JPG is a ruthless oil baron and a penny pinching miser. He puts his fixer Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) on the case.This movie will always be more known for the controversy from Kevin Spacey as the original JPG. It's not a bad movie but it's not good enough to overtake the behind-the-scene scandal. Quite frankly, Christopher Plummer is a better choice for the role. He needs to be a Scrooge, powerful without the anger. Spacey would probably take it too far. Michelle Williams does solid work as always. She's that good. On the other hand, Wahlberg continues to insists on being the hero of piece which is very annoying. He takes it too far. In one scene, he confronts Getty and I actually felt bad for the bastard. He diminishes the picture. I also note that there is TV show about the same historical drama and I really like that show. This is solid work but the history of this movie will always start with the scandal.
AD
