Money Monster

Plot

Lee Gates hosts a nightly finance show where he discusses which stocks to buy and sell. A company recently lost $800m in one day, and one of its investors Kyle, – who lost $60k decides to take Lee hostage in order to track down the company’s CEO to find out why he lost his money.

Direction

Jodie Foster directs here, and does such a great job. The sets are clean and it fast paced, with quick cuts it is easy to follow along with. As Lee works on a television set, there are moments where characters interact through screens to each other – or via phones/ear pieces.

Cast/Characters

George Clooney plays Lee and does a solid job. He plays the egotistical role to perfection, who does a complete 180 to defenceless hostage.

Julia Roberts, plays his friend and the director of his show Patty. She commands the screen as she is in the middle of the action – and in conversations with police and Lee and Kyle. They both remind us that they still have it, and why they’ve been such powerhouses in the film industry.

Jack O’Connell plays the role of Kyle, and he sells his own as the guy who has lost almost everything and wants to get it back. I did think he did an okay job with his American accent despite not being from that part of the world.

Secondary cast include Giancarlo Esposito as the police captain, Dominic West as the CEO, and Caitriona Balfe as the CFO who tries to find out what happened too.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

This felt like it had an almost ‘bottle episode’ setting to it, with the majority of the film occurring on and around the sets of the television show.

Going in it would likely help having a slight understanding of finances and how the stock market work, otherwise it might be a little bit of a struggle.

Score/Soundtrack

I really enjoyed the ‘techy’ score – and gave me Nightcrawler/Drive vibes.

Overall

I really enjoyed this, with great performances by the leads, and solid direction from Foster (I will admit, I went into watching this blind and did not realise she directed until the credits rolled).

This kept me on the edge of my seat at times, and had an exciting concept and kept the engagement up as the story went along. A very strongly recommend from me.

4/5