Courtesy of TIFF
Michael Winterbottom’s latest, Greed, a film that couldn’t be more of a departure from his last TIFF entry The Wedding Guest. A comedy-satire led by frequent collaborator Steve Coogan as an ageing billionaire high street magnate, is a huge magnifying glass on the society in which we live today. It also might be the director’s funniest, and best feature yet.
Greed opens on the Greek island of Mykyonos, preparations in full swing for billionaire high street tycoon Sir Richard McCreadie’s 60th birthday celebrations. Themed around Ridley Scott’s Oscar-magnet Gladiator, the shindig promises toga-wearing celebrities, tons of booze and drugs and even a lion. Yes, a real lion. The film flits forward and back from the preparations – and eventually the party – to McCreadie’s time at boarding school as a teenager, to his early years on the rag trade in his twenties, through to his ultimate success as a millionaire and eventually billionaire, albeit leaving a trail of failed businesses in his wake.
Joining Coogan as the hilarious, foul-mouthed lead are the likes of Isla Fisher as his ex-wife, David Mitchell as a writer and official biographer, a brilliant Shirley Henderson as McCreadie’s iron-willed Irish mother, and aa huge supporting cast of British talent, including Pearl Mackie, Asim Chaudhry (he’s the lion-handler), Sophie Cookson and Asa Butterfield.
Greed was a film that took me a little by surprise. Sometimes you walk into a film at a festival knowing very little about the plot or themes. This was once such beast, though knowing that Winterbottom and Coogan are involved, you’d expect something of a certain standard. I did not expect to be rolling in the aisles in fits of giggles, pretty much from the off.
Coogan, of course, is brilliant, his put-downs of his ‘minions’, brutal one liners and frequent ‘f’ and c-bombing some of the one of the true highlights of the whole piece. There are many gag set-ups early-on, the pay offs coming much later in the piece – usually when you least expect it. This all originates from a brilliant screenplay by Winterbottom (with additional material from Sean Gray), so vibrant and full of comedic gems that you never tire of.
As the movie progresses through to its entertaining climax, it does run out of steam a little, however, you’ve had such a blast up until this point, it doesn’t matter and any shortcomings can be forgiven.
The comedy won’t delight all, but for fans of The Thick Of It, any of the Coogan-Winterbottom collaborations (The Trip etc) will have an absolute blast with this.
Greed was reviewed at TIFF 2019.
