The presence of Julia Roberts and George Clooney in the cast was a good enough reason to choose to see ‘Money Monster‘ (made in 2016) and the name of Jodie Foster as director was another reason. Foster is already at her fourth feature film and proves here that she has a good grasp of the tools of film making. ‘Money Monster‘ is a thriller set in the worlds of the big television studios and of the stock exchange investors, both located in midtown Manhattan, professionally made, which will satisfy fans of the genre. My feeling of slight disappointment is caused by the fact that from a collection of talents as this film gathers, viewers have, I think, the right to expect something special. This is not the case, but one does not exit empty hands from watching this movie either.
The story. Lee Gates (George Clooney) and Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) are the anchor, respectively the producer of a television show of the kind we love to hate – a show providing economic advice including tips for stock market investments in a media circus style, in other words entertainment on the viewers’ money . The studio is infiltrated a young man (Jack O’Connell) disguised as a pizza delivery boy, who takes the anchor hostage on live broadcast, demanding explanations and compensation (tens of millions of dollars!) for the losses due to a spectacular fall of shares of a company recommended by the show the previous day. The official explanation is that that the cause been a financial software ‘glitch’, but we will soon find out that something else entirely has happened – a high-level scam and fraud, the victims being the small investors, among others the ones who follow the recommendations of television shows.
As an action thriller throwing critical and satirical arrows at commercial television and the world of computer finance ‘Money Monster‘ works quite well. The feeling I had watching the movie was that I was watching a double episode (due to the screening time) of a good TV series. The actors are doing their job well, but the question is whether Clooney and Roberts‘ (paychecks) level acting were needed for these roles. They fail to add anything special to their characters, and the feeling of overcasting cannot be avoided. The kidnapping and hostage situation that takes place in television studios and then on the streets of Manhattan are truthfully rendered. Probably we, the spectators, are to blame, if we expected more than the level of ‘OK movie’ from a production with such names in the credits. Jodie Foster is an actress who has added drama and vibration to her roles in films such as ‘Taxi Driver‘, ‘The Accused‘, ‘The Silence of the Lambs‘ or ‘Panic Room‘. However, as a director, her work until now is too routine. More boldness as well as avoiding and overcoming the beaten paths would have added a lot to this film. It’s not too late for future work.