All The Money In The World

Let's talk about the elephant in the lead. Yes -- Ridley Scott's latest film, "All the Money in the World," is the one you've read about. The disgraced Kevin Spacey was replaced by Christopher Plummer in the role of J. Paul Getty, the latter actor participating in reshoots for a mere nine days so Ridley Scott could maintain the movie's original release date. It's admittedly phenomenal that "All the Money in the World" made it to theaters on time in a package like this; the film has been so cleanly re-shot, re-edited and re-colored in such a tight time frame that you almost forget a completely different film existed only a little more than a month ago. And then you remember, and you marvel once again at this feat of clock-ticking production by two men in their 80s.

As impressive as this accomplishment is, it unfortunately doesn't change the fact that this is a minor, forgettable work from the always-endearing Scott (who also released his "Alien: Covenant" this year, a far better film). Plummer is fantastic, his nine days on set apparently very well spent. It's a performance that simmers with smug satisfaction, with Plummer's Getty strongly resembling another despicable asshole who comes from money, doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself and seems to get away with everything due to his position of dangerous, influential power. It's entrancing, infuriating, at times hilarious, and one of my favorite Plummer performances.

He stars as the real life Getty, who infamously refused to pay his grandson's kidnapping ransom back in 1973, even though the request of $17 million dollars was a petty sum compared to the tycoon's awe-inspiring oil fortune. The film dives heavily into Getty's greed, as well as the imprisoned fear of his grandson, John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer, no relation). It also examines the attempts by Gail Getty to negotiate a ransom and rescue her son, captured in a extravagant performance by Michelle Williams that channels the cigarette-between-fingers, strong-woman persona reminiscent of both Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday" and Gloria Graham in "In a Lonely Place." It's a great performance, and arguably the best of the film.

Then there's the worst one -- Mark Wahlberg as Getty's assistant, hired to help Gail negotiate the ransom. It's that stale, one-note performance Wahlberg has been giving for years (his last good performances were in David O'Russell's "The Fighter" and Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain"). From "Daddy's Home" to "Patriots Day" to this film, Wahlberg's latest output on screen is all furrowed forehead and over-dramatic line readings where his voice always seems to rise in pitch, as if he's perpetually asking a question. (Additionally, it's hilarious that this performance mirrors Wahlberg's role in the last two "Transformers" movies, where the actor wears big glasses in an attempt to suggest braininess).

As a film itself, "All the Money in the World" is consistently entertaining and overall solid, but it doesn't live up to the impressive production background that precedes it. It's passable, somewhat-smart popcorn entertainment with relevant themes and a sprinkling of great performances, but in the pantheon of Scott's career the most marvelous thing about this film is that it even exists at all. This man is one of our hardest-working film artists, and that's what comes through in "All the Money in the World" -- a decent film by an exceptionally talented director.