Money Monster Review: Jodie Foster steps behind the lens to direct George Clooney, Julia Roberts and EE BAFTA Rising Star Jack O’Connell in a tale highlighting the perils of the stock market.
Money Monster Review
Jodie Foster began her acting career at the tender age of two, appearing in various television commercials. It would take her ten years to catch the eye of the critics, but since her appearance as a teen prostitute in Taxi Driver she’s starred in a host of award winning movies. Not content to stick to acting Foster has for the last twenty years turned her talents to directing and Money Monster is her latest presentation.
Starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jack O’Connell, Money Monster is a blend of financial corporate cover-ups and hostage situations. Clooney plays Lee Gates, the charismatic presenter of cable stock market show Money Monster. Whilst on air, Gates’ live broadcast is interrupted by a young man, Kyle (O’Connell), who lost everything on the stock market thanks to a not so hot tip from Gates. Gates and his loyal camera and gallery crew must work together to survive the siege, but as they start to investigate Kyle’s claims they find that a darling super-corporation might not be as clean as everyone thought.
It’s not the most original scenario in film history, but Foster does a great job behind the camera bringing not only tension but a surprising amount of humour. There’s a great little scene where Kyle is confronted by his pregnant girlfriend which is brilliantly funny thanks to how true to life it feels.
Money Monster Review
In terms of casting, Foster has for the most part picked wisely, though not necessarily outside of the box. Casting Clooney as Gates is casting 101, it’s a role that he’s played time and time again. Not personally being the actor’s biggest fan, mainly because of his reluctance to try variety when it come to his parts, it was a little disappointing that he was the final choice. It would have been nice to see someone else give the role a whirl, but that being sad I didn’t hate him in this film (a film where I don’t despise Clooney is a hard thing to find).
Sadly though Roberts’ really offers nothing more than the star-power that her name draws. Given recent misfires it’s surprising that her moniker still has the same clout, but I guess there are plenty of people out there still idolising her Pretty Woman outing. Roberts’ portrayal as the show’s director doesn’t quite feel real. The part is well written and an integral puzzle piece, but the actress doesn’t really seem to be putting in any real effort. You can’t help but know you are watching Julia Roberts, worse still, it’s a version of Roberts that can’t be bothered to fully commit to the piece.
Money Monster Review
Jack O’Connell definitely commits and manages to hold up well when sharing the screen with the two superstars. Kyle is the archetypal every-man and audiences will instantly sympathize with his plight. He cut his teeth on Channel 4’s Skins but there’s not a trace of Cook to be seen. His accent is pretty spot-on for most of the film, but there’s a distinct Derbyshire twang to some phrases that will be a little distracting for those of us from the British Midlands.
Money Monster has a powerful and important message about who we trust with our money. But more than that it also portrays the plight of the every-man in stark contrast to the ruling few, the many who work endlessly for next to nothing juxtaposed directly against the few who have excessive wealth without any real merit. At just over ninety minutes the film is nicely paced and never feels stuffy or bloated. This type of yarn could have easily been dragged out for around two hours, the shorter run time helping to emphasise the urgency and panic of the television crew.
In Money Monster Foster has crafted a slick, fast-paced corporate thriller peppered with humour that will open your eyes to the dark side of the stock market.
Money Monster Review, by Kat Hughes, May 2016.
Money Monster arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 27th May 2016.
