Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum
Every one of us is special. Nobody is like anyone else - that's the point of our show."
The Greatest Showman, inspired by the most familiar aspect of the multifaceted life of P.T. Barnum, is a well adapted musical (story by Jenny Bicks, screenplay by Bicks and Bill Condon) with a tight narrative, strong cast and fleeting moments of energetic, engaging visuals. Director Michael Gracey does not over-tell the story, and without prolonging the inevitable or overstating the obvious, he exposes Barnum’s unusual yet innate sense of humanity and perseverance. We are given enough to get a feel for Barnum’s gift for orchestrating the spectacular, pulling off the near unbelievable and creating innovative performances that spawned a worldwide show business phenomenon. In the midst of hoaxes and other effective persuasive devices are candid vignettes on his keen imagination, resilience and family life. There is also a healthy, albeit short, glimpse into the complex offstage lives of circus performers whose experiences are typically minimized in film through monolithic portrayals as mere sideline fillers, jokers or freaks. P.T. Barnum’s climb from poverty and social inconsideration to financial success and worldwide recognition is told succinctly through a strong performance by Hugh Jackman, whose dramatic scenes and musical numbers are delivered equally well, and contributions from a credible support cast led by Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya and Keala Settle. While the history-based narrative itself is original, much of the choreography is reminiscent of well-known Michael Jackson dance routines, although the sequencing and execution are adapted to the story and delivered in ways that would probably please the King of Pop himself. I was not blown away by the film (Jackman came close), but I was entertained and respect its overall quality. In the end, that, perhaps, may be what matters most.
B+
Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty, Sr.
"I have 14 grandchildren, and if I pay a penny of ransom, I'll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren."
All The Money in the World is a crime thriller directed by Ridley Scott, written by David Scarpa and based on John Pearson’s book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty (1995). The film is based (taking some liberties) on the 1973 kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty, III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempts by his mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to persuade his billionaire grandfather (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom. Williams gives a strong performance as a woman pushed towards the edge by greed from both sides of the equation with her son’s life on the line. Challenged by Getty, Sr.’s refusal to pay, threats from the abductors and mobs of reporters who do not buy the story that she is broke, Gail finds an unexpected ally in Getty’s trusted advisor J. Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) as the race against time and emotions intensifies. Williams is convincing and impressive as the pressured ex-daughter-in-law of the wealthy investor, with Wahlberg holding his own as a support character. But it is Christopher Plummer, with his utter consumption of the role of the tenacious senior Getty, who holds the ultimate key to the film’s suspense, and underscores how the abduction brings to the forefront the billionare's complex, uncompromising philosophy of life, love, family, loyalty and wealth, with the greatest of these being wealth. Boundaries between winning and losing are blurred along with connections between causes and effects not fixed in monetary terms. What, if any lessons were learned remain unclear. As for the movie, Plummer will likely be rewarded for his fine performance, with some form of recognition possibly being afforded Williams as well.
A-
Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom
"...because it's my name. It's all that I have."
Molly’s Game is the true story of competitive skier Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), who went from being an Olympic-class athlete to running the most exclusive high-stakes underground poker game in the world. With players that included powerful, elite and famous figures in Hollywood, Wall Street, the sports world, and (unknown to her), members of the Russian mob, she was arrested in the middle of the night at her home by FBI agents after ten years of operation. Her reluctant criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba) becomes her sole ally and quasi-therapist who discovers her tabloid-driven public image falls tremendously short of the real Molly Bloom. Chastain and Elba are superb, and although Kevin Costner gives a strong dramatic performance as Bloom’s conflicted father, it is the on-point candor, timing and chemistry between client and attorney that brings weight to this film. Written and directed by celebrated screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, this overview of Bloom’s response to loss, the need for self reinvention and risky, difficult choices against the backdrop of family dysfunction and professional secrecy will likely bring him recognition in directorial terms as well.
B+
