Money Monster – Film Review by Fran Winston

Directed by: Jodie Foster

Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito

In cinemas, May 27th

There is no denying that Jodie Foster is a fine actress but her directing efforts have, in my opinion, been rather hit and miss. While the premise of this – a TV money guru held hostage live on his show by a man who lost everything thanks to his advice – sounded like it had great potential I wasn’t sure if Foster had the directing chops to pull it off. It’s also set in real time which can really drag if not handled properly. Thankfully it turns out she really “got it” and what you have here is a multilayered movie with well rounded characters and a surprisingly fast pace despite most of the action being set in the confines of one location.

George Clooney plays Lee Gates, the aforementioned financial guru. Brash and flash he makes the stock market sexy for viewers. Unfortunately he had tipped a company the previous week that has subsequently seen its shares collapse. As he begins his show and prepares to discuss the crash with the company spokesperson he finds himself staring down the barrel of a gun when a disgruntled investor Kyle (Jack O’Connell) invades the studio. What follows is a real time hostage situation as Kyle and Lee try to get to the bottom of what happened to the companies shares while outside the studio people are working furiously to get the innocent victims out safely. All of this happens under the watchful eye of millions of worldwide viewers as the entire incident is broadcast live.

We’ve already seen Clooney and Roberts’ chemistry in the Oceans movies and it’s still as strong as ever. However Clooney also works well with O’Connell here allowing the younger actor to have his moments rather than trying to hog each scene. O’Connell gives a great performance and it is impossible not to feel sympathy for him. However Clooney also manages to garner some sympathy for Gates who should be extremely unlikeable. By giving him a depth that you wouldn’t expect, you find yourself rooting for him while also hating him on some level.

Foster breaks up the studio scenes with cutaways to the action outside as various people try to save Lee and the crew and get to the bottom of the shares crash but everything still happens in real time. There are no liberties taken with that and it really works to build the tension and it keeps you glued. There are also some wonderfully tense moments that don’t go where you expect which also serve to keep things interesting.

Where this movie does fall down is in the extremely complex explanation of what happened to the shares. You will probably need an accounting degree to properly follow it and even then I’m not sure how much sense it will make.

Other than that muddying the waters, this is an entertaining movie that anyone who has been affected by world financial events of recent years will relate to. You may never have contemplated holding those you felt responsible hostage but many people have felt the sheer anger and frustration at seeing what they worked for wiped out just like Kyle.

A serious topic but treated with just the right dose of humour to stop it getting too heavy this will grip you until the end. If nothing else – and trust me on this – it’s worth a look just for George Clooney’s dancing!