James Farmer The film is watchable enough and passes the time quite easily. However the acting is abysmal and why oh why do we keep film-makers keep making the bad guy a middle aged pompous English twit, which an accent that is seldom heard in England unless one visits a Royal Palace. The accent was silly and affected and does not reflect how English people speak. Even the aristocracy do not sound like this. The acting performances and silly accents make the film very hard to take seriously, it is a wooden film with every plot turn expected and in some cases down right ludicrous. How anyone can possibly rate this film above 5 is beyond my understanding.

lavatch In the "Behind the Scenes" segment of the DVD of "Money," the screenwriter Josep Ciutat identified his film concept as "normal people acting like gangsters." That is a perfect description of a set of nondescript characters struggling through a long night of amateur criminal activity.The opening of the film sets the stage for a mundane experience that will soon escalate to the abnormal in the short space of twenty-four hours. A kind gardener takes the time to show Sylvia (Jess Weixler), the lady of the house, a few ballroom dance steps. It turns out that the gardener will figure prominently in the turbulent chain of events.One of the memorable images of the film is that of the beautiful turquoise quetzal bird. Sylvia explains that her prized possession of the figurine of the quetzal represents the symbol of freedom in Guatemala. But the greatest threat to the bird is to be locked in a cage. It soon becomes clear that Sylvia herself is confined in the gilded cage of her opulent home that contains secrets and lies that will explode in the drama. The filmmakers have chosen an especially vulgar box-like home of Sylvia that does indeed resemble a cage.Sylvia's husband Mark is involved in a scheme to sell his company's secrets to a rival organization. Mark and his buddy Sean believe they have pulled off the scam. Yet their elation turns to shock and despair when they are held hostage by a suave, smooth-talking hustler named John (Jamie Bamber), who seems to know every intimate details of their lives.The confrontation between the intruder and the thieves unfolds like a group of rank amateurs trying to salvage the money and outfox one another. The dialogue is snappy, and the changes in fortune and the reversals are well-executed during the night in the home.This low-budget thriller was clearly a compact and economical film production. In the bonus segment of the DVD, the director noted that the shoot was completed in only sixteen days. The film was especially well-crafted with small details like the Saul Bellow book that are effectively incorporated into the action. Above all, it was the character of Sylvia who was intriguing in the transformation that occurs over the course of the film. There is one turning point when she learns from her husband that their home is encumbered and that they are near bankruptcy. That moment is the catalyst for Sylvia to show her true (an rather distasteful) colors and to do something about escaping from her cage.

pgmfff A captivating tape. It catches you from the beginning and leaves you breathless until the end. With a simple but very effective staging the stage becomes a character of the plot. What stars out as a quiet situation is gradually becoming a succession of turns that rises up the temperature of the film; with a couple of memorable scenes that will remain in the retina after the viewing. Very sharp dialogues, that they will introduce you little by little in the plot until discover who is who, and that motivates to each of the characters. Very successful actors, especially noteworthy is the work of Jamie Bamber and Jess Weiner. Definitely a great movie that will surely catch you. I bet there will be great success for its director Martin Rosete.

Gino Cox "Money" is a passable Monster-in-the-House/Heist-Gone-Wrong character-driven drama. It seems somewhat hampered by an obviously limited budget. About 95% of the action takes place in and around an isolated residence with a core cast of five people. Much of the story is relayed through dialogue; however, the dialogue is generally reasonably clever. Jamie Bamber, as the villain, largely drives the plot, with credible supporting performances by Jesse Williams, Lucia Guerrero and Fredric Lehne. Unfortunately, over-reliance on jiggly-cam shots is obvious and frequently distracting. The story doesn't break any new ground and several of the plot points are predictable. It doesn't have much to offer in the way of theme or character arcs and there really isn't a good protagonist to balance Bamber's villainy. For a film titled "Money," with an alternate title of "$," one would think they would at least get the stage money right. The bills look authentic, but there aren't nearly enough of them. What is supposedly five million dollars can't be more than half a million. As low budget direct-to-video fare, it's okay. It's watchable, but not a film one would want to view repeatedly to appreciate subtle nuances.