Film: Money Monster

This relevant fairy tale, directed by Jodie Foster, excited us to the very end.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts are in great form as, respectively, the smooth anchor and wily producer of a TV programme that has turned financial journalism into a joke. It all goes wrong when a John Doe with a gun and explosive vest walks onto the set during a live broadcast. He demands an explanation for the many millions of dollars of savings that he had invested in a hip company that suddenly and unexpectedly crashed. The TV crew sees a golden opportunity finally to do some real journalism. We were impressed by the way director Jodie Foster juggles several genres without dropping any balls. Her fourth film, which is clearly intended to have broad appeal, alternates between media satire and hostage thriller, eventually to castigate arrogance, the grotesque greed, and the crimes of Wall Street. The latter point doesn’t really work. Money Monster barks but it doesn’t really bite. It certainly won’t keep the Gordon Gekkos of this world up at night. So be it. We saw a relevant fairy tale that excited us to the very end.



MONEY MONSTER
US, 2016, dir.: Jodie Foster, act.: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, 99 min.