Greed is good so said Gordon Gecko. Take that to another level with J.Paul Getty, (Christopher Plummer) once the richest man who had ever lived. Now add in a level of frugal, which defies belief of someone that rich, a man who cares more about his artwork than paying the ransom for his own Grandson who in July 1973 in a Rome Piazza has been by kidnapped by an Italian crime mob.

Getty is more concerned about the fluctuations of the oil market than whether his flesh and blood is still alive. Plummer is the stand in for Kevin Spacey who had all scenes chopped from the film due to sexual assault allegations, the Studio agreed to a reshoot from Director Ridley Scott. Plummer is outstanding here, with only days to learn the long dialogue required.

The Kidnapping of the 17-year-old John Paul Getty 111 (Charlie Plummer) leaves his mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to fend for herself, “I’m not a real Getty, I just married one”, this leaves her on the outside but she has a mother’s love that drives her and she’ll do whatever it takes to get her son back, ransom money or not. When she tells one of the kidnappers ‘I don’t have any money’ he replies ‘Get it from your father in law, he has all the money in the world’.

A former CIA agent (Mark Wahlberg) employed by Getty to find the boy has an alternate theory of the kidnapping due to investigating back channels with the local communists. It’s a game of cat and mouse, a thrilling chase against time with the Getty family dynamics smack in the middle.

The galling part is how unwilling Getty is to part with his money, when asked by a reporter ‘how much would you pay to release your Grandson’ his reply is ‘nothing’. It’s a film about morals bouncing between Getty’s ridiculous wealth, the desperation of a mother and the kidnappers deadly desire to get paid.

Based on a true story it’s a stylish thriller that grips you to the very end.

hallymustang review :  ????? 4.5/5