All the Money in the World (2017)

Directed by: Ridley Scott | 132 minutes | biography, crime | Actors: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris, Timothy Hutton, Charlie Plummer, Charlie Shotwell, Andrew Buchan, Marco Leonardi, Giuseppe Bonifati, Nicolas Vaporidis, Andrea Piedimonte Bodini, Giglielmo Favilla, Nicola Di Chio

Just imagine: after you have worked hard for a year to make a major film, it turns out that one of your protagonists has not been able to keep his hands to himself for decades. Director Ridley Scott must have been in despair after news of possible sexual assaults by Kevin Spacey came out, especially given the active behind-the-scenes lobbying for an Oscar nomination for his role as billionaire Jean Paul Getty in ‘All the Money in the World’. Scott did something rarely done before: he cut Spacey out of the film and re-shot his scenes with actor Christopher Plummer. In the end result, the viewer doesn’t notice the big switch trick: ‘All the Money in the World’ is a very entertaining thriller, although Spacey’s shadow inevitably lingers around the film.

In the true story ‘All the Money in the World’ we meet billionaire Jean Paul Getty, who built up a fortune by investing in oil from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the late 1940s, and became the richest man in the world. His total wealth was estimated at around two to four billion euros, but Getty was nevertheless known for being extremely frugal. That frugality was perhaps best expressed in the controversial kidnapping case of his grandson John Paul Getty III. Paul Getty was kidnapped in Rome in 1973 by the Italian mafia, who demanded some $17 million in ransom from the old Getty. However, Getty refused to pay, resulting in a cat-and-mouse game between the kidnappers and Getty.

In ‘All the Money in the World’, director Scott mainly focuses on the kidnapping and the tyrannical behavior of the narrow-minded Getty (Christopher Plummer). Scott chooses to tell the story from three angles: the kidnapped Paul (Charlie Plummer) and his relationship with his guard; that of the old Getty himself and Getty’s ex-daughter-in-law, Abigail (played by a strong Michelle Williams), supported by Getty’s errand boy Fletcher Chase (proper role by Mark Wahlberg). Old Getty initially assumes the kidnapping was staged by Abigail and Paul and only begins to realize the gravity of the situation once Paul’s ear is delivered by mail. What follows is a thrilling spectacle, with Getty going to great lengths to pay as little ransom as possible. The most bizarre and best example of his stinginess is when Getty looks for ways to report the kidnapping as a “deduction” to the tax authorities.

The switch trick with Plummer works out well in the film: Plummer portrays a credible bastard in the person of Getty, who is bizarrely frugal and at the same time incredibly shrewd, and who knows how to bend (almost) everything to his will. Still, Plummer can’t help but think throughout the film how Spacey would have played this role, especially since this would have been a prime role for him to star. However solid Plummer’s performance is, you remain curious about Spacey’s interpretation of the role. Scott previously said he wouldn’t rule out releasing the original of the film; after all, the distinction between art and artist is always a subject of discussion.

Scott will not even be very dissatisfied with the commotion that has arisen around his film. The switch trick has already garnered the film a lot of attention before its premiere, and Plummer and Scott received a Golden Globe nomination for their work, as did Michelle Williams. ‘All the Money in the World’ is therefore, albeit a bit long-winded at times, a skillfully made, suspenseful thriller that is very entertaining, especially if you are not familiar with the ending of the story.