Nominated For: Best Supporting Actor; Christopher Plummer.
All the Money in the World briefs audiences on the kidnapping of sixteen year old John Paul Getty III in July 1973 and his distraught mother's desperate attempt to convince the boy's wealthy grandfather J. Paul Getty to pay the ransom. Getty refuses and enlists former federal agent Fletcher Chase to find out what's happened to his grandson, so Chase and Gail Harris wind up in an unexpected alliance as they strive to rescue the boy by any means necessary.
You may or may not have heard about all of All the Money in the World's behind the scenes drama, but after sexual harassment allegations arose surrounding Kevin Spacey, the decision was made to remove Spacey from the film, reshoot all his scenes with Christopher Plummer replacing him as Getty, and release the film as scheduled. While I'm not sure the decision to remove Spacey affected the finished product all too much, it paid off thanks to the wonderful work from director Ridley Scott and actor Christopher Plummer. By the way, it's not like Scott and his crew just reshot a couple scenes considering Getty is in a substantial amount of the film... The fact they did it all in two weeks AND managed to release the films a few weeks later is absolutely astounding to me.
However, I must be completely honest in saying that otherwise I wasn't very impressed. There are a few exceptions to that statement of course, but don't be fooled into thinking All the Money in the World is truly one of the year's best films simply because they seamlessly subbed out Spacey... Ridley Scott is a director whom I especially admire for creating such fantastic films as Alien, Blade Runner, and The Martian, but All the Money in the World lacks the director's unique style to differentiate it from any other bio-pic out there. Scott utilizes a desaturated color scheme that was terribly tiring to look at, and I'm honestly surprised it didn't put me to sleep when contemplating the film is also built around a dialogue-heavy screenplay. On the whole, the film's competently made, but it's a little long so the pacing drags and you start to realize this story may not have been meant for the film medium.
David Scarpa adapts John Pearson's book and still comes out short-changed after dramatizing things. What confounds me most though is how fascinating the story seems, yet how underwhelming Scarpa's script managed to be. The film's quite dialogue heavy, which is fine if the things said come across as interesting in execution, but there are large stretches that are boring or commonplace. There's unique elements in the kidnapping, but viewers are mostly left watching Harris wait for clues to find her son or beg Getty to pay the ransom, and that gets quite taxing after awhile.
On the flip side of that coin, All the Money in the World features some fine performances. Michelle Williams brings both strength and vulnerability to the role of Gail Harris, shining as a determined mother against adversity. She's worried, but never frantic. Committed, but never unwavering. Williams discovers an effective balance between the extremes and ensures all her moments count so her acting prowess doesn't go unnoticed. Charlie Plummer (who is not related to Christopher Plummer) does well playing John Paul Getty III as a disparaged captive, while French actor Romain Duris imbues an unexpected humanity and warmth as the kid's captor, Cinquanta.
Elsewhere, Mark Wahlberg just kind of acts as an extension of himself and Christopher Plummer takes charge as J. Paul Getty. I never really saw much of Spacey from the trailers, but I think Plummer's the better casting choice. For one, it's age-appropriate casting (a rarity these days) and I didn't have to watch Kevin Spacey act with a peculiar facial prosthesis. Secondly, Plummer is commanding in the role. Plummer plays the cold, distanced, stingy old man perfectly. I'm not entirely sure how Spacey would have performed, but I'm kind of glad that the decision to remove him was made. I can only imagine how the scandal would have loomed over the film...
While I'm impressed by the peak performances and Ridley Scott's ability to reshoot a substantial amount of the film in about two weeks, All the Money in the World didn't have much else going for it to earn my interest. If you want my two cents, All the Money in the World isn't worth all the attention in the world.
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