Mountainhead: Film Review
Jesse Armstrong made a name for himself satirising the rich and powerful in TV shows like The Thick Of It and Succession so it’s no surprise he stayed within that realm for his feature directorial debut Mountainhead.
The title refers to a secluded fortress in the snowy mountains owned by Hugo, also known as Soups (Jason Schwartzman). He invites his buddies, fellow tech bros Randall (Steve Carell), Venis (Cory Michael Smith) and Jeff (Ramy Youssef), over for a “Brewsters” weekend.
The weekend coincides with Venis’s platform Traam publishing a whole raft of fake content, furthering the rise of disinformation and causing violence, chaos and unrest. As the global crisis unfolds, the men start coming up with ideas about how to save the world and take charge. They believe they have the money, resources and intelligence to create a “new techno world order” and “upgrade the world” as if it were an app.
Mountainhead feels very timely given the way that tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are gaining power and becoming involved with politics. It also tackles the rise of AI and deepfakes and considers what could happen if disinformation gets out of control. It feels scarily believable and too not far away from becoming our reality.
Writing about rich douchebags is very much in Armstrong’s wheelhouse. Fans of Succession will probably dig Mountainhead because it’s in the same vein, with the same types of characters and plot mechanics. He’s so good at writing about awful people doing awful things. These men have more money than sense, are the worst friends ever, and their egos and delusions of grandeur know no bounds.
There’s a really interesting dynamic between the foursome. Venis is the most egotistical and he truly doesn’t think he’s responsible for the wave of violence across the world. In fact, he thinks all of the footage and new reports are fake too. In a world of disinformation, what can you believe? Hugo and Randall kiss his butt and are very much yes men, while Jeff calls him out and challenges him. Jeff seems normal and kind in comparison and it’s hard to imagine why he’s friends with these people. All four performances are perfectly pitched, but Smith is the standout.
I didn’t understand all the tech and financial lingo but that didn’t stop me from appreciating this dark comedy’s script. Armstrong has once again created a biting satire of the world we currently live in.
Mountainhead will be available on Sky and streaming service NOW from 1 June