All The Money In The World

In 1973, a young dapper man wafts through the crowds at Rome’s Trevi fountain. Smiling his way through the charms of a warm, Italian evening, the future seems like a open book to him until fate slams it shut. Screeching to a halt in front of him, he is suddenly abducted off the street and thrown into the back of a small van. Nobody saw it happen. Nobody knows his name until the next day his kidnappers call his mother (Michelle Williams): John Paul Getty III, favourite grandson to the richest man in the world has been kidnapped and they want $17million if he is to ever be seen alive again.

Ridley’s Scott’s ‘All The Money In The World’ has had a torturous journey to the big screen. Under a cloud of sexual impropriety, lead actor Kevin Spacey had to be removed and replaced by Christopher Plummer. As a result, incurring massive re-shoots and adding $10 million to its budget, that would be enough to sink most movies – but this is a Ridley Scott film.

Now in his eighties, the veteran British director has a fierce-some work ethic to go with his equally impressive back catalogue. Known for his persistence as much as his mastery of light, Scott is somebody who thrives on a challenge. No nonsense and to the point, he is a director who knows how to turn triumph out of disaster, and with this movie he has done it again.

…Scott has found another strong female protagonist in actress Michelle Williams.

With its story centred on Gail Getty, like his ‘Thelma and Louise’ and ‘Alien’, in ‘All The Money In The World’ Scott has found another strong female protagonist in actress Michelle Williams. Paired with a low key Mark Wahlberg as the Getty’s fix-it man, hers is the strongest human heart in this story. For the coldest, that convincingly resides with the swiftly brought-in Christopher Plummer. As John Paul Getty, a man to whom everything has its price, he excels. In this story of a multi-millionaire consumed by his finances, it is as much his story as that of a young man’s life hanging in the balance.

A well-made study into a real life drama, ‘All The Money In The World’ is a highly proficient and professional retelling of a news story that once gripped the world. Whilst it may not rank amongst Scott’s finest movies, this is still a very strong story told with a string of a convincing performances to its credit. If you are looking for an entertaining evening at the cinema visit, then you can look no further than the highly dependable hands of Ridley Scott in this tale of ultimate avarice.