Directed by Jodie Foster (Home for the Holidays; The Beaver, both as director) and starring George Clooney (Hail Caesar!; Argo; Syriana; Michael Clayton; Gravity; Up in the Air; Ocean's Eleven), Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich; Pretty Woman; August: Osage County; Charlie Wilson's War; My Best Friend's Wedding; Notting Hill), Jack O'Connell (Unbroken; '71; Starred Up; Harry Brown), Dominic West (Testament of Youth; Chicago; Spice World; Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace) and Caitriona Balfe (Outlander; Now You See Me; Super 8).
Drama / thriller, 98 mins, 12+, in English.
Money Monster is a hostage drama with a difference; superbly cast, the film features Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) as the producer of a live television show, Money Monster, in which the charismatic Lee Gates (George Clooney) presents a glitzy show about the money markets and makes recommendations for viewers to buy certain shares. That's the setting. One evening just as he is going to talk with Diane Lester (Caitriona Balfe) the CIO of IRIS, a company in which the share price has plummeted, Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell) enters the studio and holds Lee Gates hostage with a gun and a vest with explosives in a tense standoff broadcast to millions on live television.
It quickly transpires that Kyle had invested $60,000, the proceeds of the sale of his mother's house, in the company's shares on the advide of Lee Gates, and he is looking for answers. Diane Lester protects the company and explains that a glitch in the algorithm caused the share price to dive, costing investors $800 million, but Kyle doesn't buy this and wants answers from the CEO, Walt Camby (Dominic West) who has gone awol in his private jet.
The central theme in Money Monster is corruption in Wall Street. The film plays out in real time, highlighting the pressure that those involved - Patty Fenn and Lee Gates, as well as Diane Lester to a degree - to try to find answers in the high pressure environment. This it achieves startlingly well, even if the characters are not really developed in any depth; some of their background seeps out during the film, but not enough to really emphatise with any of them.
An entertaining film that will keep the audience glued to the big screen throughout, without having to try to understand the complexities of money markets and trading.
