All the Money in the World: Film Review

I’m sure you’ve heard about All the Money in the World after director Ridley Scott cut out Kevin Spacey (following the allegations against him) and replaced him with Christopher Plummer just weeks before the film’s release. But is it a good film? Find out more below.

It is 1973 in Rome, Italy and 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) is abducted. His kidnappers want a ransom of $17 million for his release. That should be easy, considering his grandfather Jean Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer) is the richest man in America, but it’s not because Getty is intensely frugal and refuses to pay up. The film follows Abigail Harris (Michelle Williams), Getty III’s mother and Getty’s security detail Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) as they try to find the boy and/or force the old man to stump up the cash.

I knew the story vaguely but I had no idea what happened to the teenager and how long it took for him to be rescued. This means I wasn’t prepared for the length of the movie (2 hours and 12 minutes) and it feels that long thanks to a pretty slow pace. It takes a while to get into the flow because it jumps around a lot of places and time periods in the beginning, but once we are firmly in 1973 and focused on the kidnapping, it is fine. However, there were a few times when I thought he would be rescued and it would be coming to an end, but then it didn’t happen!

The story is fascinating though and Getty’s attitude to money made my blood boil. He has literally billions but he won’t open his pocket for anything, even to save his grandson’s life! It’s maddening! His ways of avoiding taxes and treating his former daughter-in-law are equally irritating.

Plummer is the perfect guy for the role and he puts in a tremendous performance as this thoroughly unlikely character. He was in it more than I expected considering they reshot his scenes in a couple of weeks. It’s impressive that he pulled off the performance in such a short space of time and with little prep. Williams is equally excellent and while it feels weird to see Wahlberg in a film like this, he was actually fine.

All the Money in the World is an interesting watch and occasionally gruesome (there is one very bloody scene). The script was decent and the cast was all on top form but the whole thing needed tightening. Kudos to Scott for taking out Spacey and delivering the goods in virtually no time at all.

In cinemas Friday 5th January