Jean-Paul’s Rating: 3/5 stars
Bottom Line: An interesting movie only because it’s based on a true story proving once again that reality is indeed often stranger than fiction.
Jean Paul Getty was once the richest man in the world. He amassed this fortune in the usual way, buy being the son of millionaires and using that privilege to take advantage of once in a lifetime opportunities to almost single-handedly cement a destabilized Middle East and by being a generally horrible person to just about everyone that didn’t provide him with something that he needed. So he was basically Donald Trump only with actual business sense and actual taste in art and architecture.
John Paul Getty III, from now on just Paul Getty (Charlie Plummer), was the son of John Paul Getty Jr. (Andrew Buchan) who was J. Paul Getty’s (Christopher Plummer) son because if there’s one thing rich people like more than money, it’s naming their children after themselves. That’s a little unfair. Rich people like nothing more than money. In 1973, Paul Getty was kidnapped and held for ransom by a whole slew of shady individuals in what may be the weirdest real life kidnapping story ever told. “All the Money in the World” retells that story.
This is one of those movies that are good because it’s based on reality. The storytelling itself as a standalone movie is kind of lackluster. It is a bit unevenly paced and at least a half hour too long. There are some wonderful performances, especially Michelle Williams as Gail Harris, Paul Getty’s mother. Christopher Plummer is also good, but I don’t quite understand the accolades that he’s getting for his role besides the fact that he did a pretty good job for completely re-shooting all of Kevin Spacey’s scenes with only a couple of weeks to go before the release of the movie.
There are definitely better movies out there right now than this, but it’s still an interesting look into the strange lives of the uber-wealthy. They definitely do have a lifestyle so far removed from our every day lives as to almost appear alien.