The Founder

Dir John Lee Hancock 

Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, BJ Novak, Laura Dern. 

Ray Kroc (Keaton), is a travelling salesman in 1954, who visits the popular ‘drive in’ restaurants across America, currently trying to sell milkshake machines. A serial entrepreneur, he is struggling to make ends meet. 

He discovers a well-run ‘walk up’ restaurant run by the McDonald brothers in California. He then suggests they franchise, and so begins the journey of McDonalds becoming the worldwide behemoth that it is today. 

Quite impressive biography of how one of the most famous companies started off, and how the people who created it were stripped of their dream. Keaton who started back with his ‘comeback’ excels here as the antihero Kroc. His apathy towards the brothers, and also his wife is well done. 

All of the actors are on point, with help of a brilliant screenplay with some witty dialogue coming from Ron Swanson… I mean Nick Offerman. One particularly memorable quote, after being hung up by Kroc, and being asked by brother Lynch ‘did he hang up on you’ the response was ‘either that, or we got disconnected violently.’ 

The setting of middle America in the 1950’s is practically flawless, from the costumes, to the outdoor dining areas – I truly felt that this was really the era it is set. 

I highly recommend this one. 

4/5