All the Money in the World

Dir: Ridley Scott

2018

****

The somewhat bizarre story of J. Paul Getty and the kidnapping of his grandson is still fascinating no matter how many times you hear it, although I like the true story far more than I liked Ridley Scott’s version. By 2017 it is safe to say that Scott has made more mediocre films than he has made great films, although the fact remains that he has made some of the greatest films of all time. It came as a pleasant surprise then that his 2017 crime thriller All the Money in the World was definitely better than mediocre, in fact it is rather good. It is a shame that such a good film was overshadowed somewhat by the recasting of it’s main character and its misogyny but it is a good film no less. It begins in 1973, 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer), known as Paul, grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer) who was at that time the world's richest private citizen, is kidnapped in Rome by an organized crime ring. The kidnappers demand a ransom of $17 million. Flashbacks show that Paul's parents, Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) and John Paul Getty Jr. (Andrew Buchan), were divorced in 1971 due to Getty Jr.'s drug addiction and that Gail rejected any alimony in exchange for full custody of her children in the divorce settlement; therefore she does not have the means to pay the ransom. She travels to Getty's estate to beseech him to pay the ransom but he refuses, stating that it would encourage further kidnappings on his family members. The media picks up on the story, with many believing Gail to be rich herself and blaming her for the refusal to pay the ransom. Meanwhile, Getty asks Fletcher Chace (Mark Wahlberg), a Getty Oil negotiator and former CIA operative, to investigate the case and secure Paul's release. Paul is kept hostage in a remote location in Italy. Initially his captors, particularly Cinquanta (Romain Duris), are tolerant with him because his quiet and submissive demeanor causes them few problems. However, things grow increasingly tense as weeks go by without the ransom being paid, far longer than the captors anticipated. Arguments arise over whether to move Paul to a new location as winter is approaching and their hideout is not suitable for cold conditions. Things get worse when one of the kidnappers accidentally shows his face to Paul, prompting one of the others to kill the man for his foolish mistake. His burned and disfigured body is recovered in the river; investigators erroneously identify the body as Paul's, but Gail examines the body and refutes this. Using the new lead of the body, Chace is able to pinpoint the hideout where Paul is being held. A raid is conducted with several kidnappers being killed, but Paul is no longer there; he had been sold on to a new crime organization. The new captors are much less patient with Paul and negotiate more aggressively with the Getty family to receive their payment. The kidnappers cut off one of Paul's ears and mail it to a major newspaper, claiming that they will continue mutilating him until the ransom is paid. After repeated negotiations with Gail and Chace, and frustration from the captors at how long the process was taking, they lower the asking price to $4 million. Getty finally decides to contribute to the ransom, but only $1 million – this being the maximum amount that he can claim as tax deductible. Moreover, he also will only do so if Gail signs a legal document waiving her parental access rights to Paul and her other children, giving them to Getty's son, her ex-husband. She reluctantly signs them. Berated by an exasperated Chace, Getty finally relents and agrees to pay the full ransom, also voiding the parental agreement with Gail. Gail and Chace take the money to Italy and follow specific instructions from the captors, leaving the money in a remote location and receiving orders to pick up Paul from a construction site. However, a frightened Paul runs away from the site towards the nearest town, miles away. Meanwhile the captors realize that Chace has broken his word and led the police to them; angry, they decide to find and kill Paul. Chace, Gail, and the captors arrive at the town to look for Paul. One of the kidnappers finds Paul first, but Cinquanta attacks the man in order to allow Paul to escape. Chace and Gail find Paul and smuggle him out of the country to safety. Getty dies of unrelated causes, and Gail is tasked with managing her children's inherited wealth until they are of age. The company was set up as a charitable trust, which meant that Getty's income was tax-free but also not spendable. He had invested much of it in paintings, sculptures and other artifacts, most of them now reside in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Scott had been fascinated with the story for some time and was impressed with David Scarpa’s screenplay, based on John Pearson's 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty. Scott has described the film as more theatre than film, which I agree with to some degree but to be frank, his treatment wasn’t always theatrical enough. The film itself is pretty standard as far as thrillers go, the added theatrics are actually the film’s weakest areas, although I loved all the nods to classic Italian films, particularly the film’s opening scene. I was impressed but not surprised by Michelle Williams and Christopher Plummer’s brilliant performances, I’m a big fan of both and neither have ever disappointed. It was Mark Wahlberg who really impressed me, in one of the best performances of his career in my opinion. It is well known that Kevin Spacey originally portrayed J. Paul Getty, appearing in the film's initial marketing campaign. But months before the release of the film, numerous sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations were made against him. The film's premiere at the AFI Fest was cancelled and its Academy Awards campaign – which focused on Spacey's supporting role – was reworked. It was soon announced that although the film was otherwise ready for release, re-shoots had been commissioned to replace Spacey with Christopher Plummer in the role of Getty. Despite his earlier statements to the contrary, Scott claimed that Plummer had been his original choice for the role (truth was Jack Nicholson was asked out of retirement for the role), and that studio executives had persuaded him to cast the "bigger name". We will never see Spacey’s performance but if it is better than Plummer’s then I’d be surprised as I thought Plummer was perfect in his performance. Plummer was prepared to replace Kevin Spacey on short notice because he had previously been considered for the role and had read the script. He also had the advantage of having met Getty several times in London at a couple of his infamous parties during the 1960s. Re-shoots with Plummer began on November 20 and ended just nine days later, with the first footage of him in the role released in a new trailer the same day. The decision cost millions of dollars in rush fees, among other costs, to meet the film's late-December release. The re-shoots ended up costing $10 million. While it was initially reported that the actors filmed the re-shoots for free, it was later revealed that Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million while Williams only received $80 in per diems, as she was contractually obligated to appear in re-shoots, while Wahlberg was not. Wahlberg's fee for the original shooting is alleged to have been $5 million, while Michelle Williams is reported to have been paid $625,000. The New York Times has reported that Wahlberg was paid 80% less than his usual fee. The $1.5 million Wahlberg received for re-shoots was in addition to this. Wahlberg's contract allowed him to approve co-stars, and he reportedly refused to approve Plummer as Spacey's replacement unless he was paid extra. In response to the backlash brought on by the difference in the actors' pay, Wahlberg announced he would donate the $1.5 million to the Time's Up movement in Williams' name. Too little, too late in my opinion. Wahlberg’s performance is good but it is Williams who glues the film together and without her it just doesn’t work. She should have been paid more than anyone. The story is great and Plummer manages to bring the legend to life but Williams’ character had to fight her way throughout the film. Very little footage of Gail Harris actually exists and Williams based all her performance on an interview where she came across as assertive and intelligent. It’s an amazing performance and utterly exhausting to watch in its intensity. It is a shame then when such a great performance is hampered by unnecessary frosting and charmless dramatics. Paul’s mother wasn’t chasing him around the Italian village on the night of his release and he certainly wasn’t looked after as well as the film suggests. His father John Paul had far more to do with negotiations than is shown and Getty himself didn’t die the night Paul was released but three years later. Scott has produced a brilliant biopic of a very strange tale but he overcooked it somewhat, leaving the edges to burn slightly and making it a slightly harder story to swallow.