Getty host age drama compelling tale
All The Money In The World
(Cert 15, 133 mins)
The removal of Kevin Spacey from Ridley Scott’s propulsive thriller has been making headlines since early November.
Replacement Christopher Plummer filmed scenes as oil tycoon John Paul Getty in nine days, leaving Scott and editor Claire Simpson to rework the finished picture in weeks.
The film is still generating awards buzz and Plummer (88), is strongly tipped to become the oldest Academy Awards nominee in any acting category for his scene-stealing theatrics.
Based on one version of events surrounding the 1973 kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III, Scott’s picture sustains dramatic tension with aplomb as David Scarpa’s script ricochets between the gang holding the boy hostage and the dysfunctional Getty family.
The abductors demand a $17million ransom but oil tycoon Getty (Plummer) refuses to plunder a cent from his billion-dollar empire.
Instead, he hires ex-CIA agent and security consultant Fletcher Chace (Mark Wahlberg) to rescue the boy.
The hunt culminates in a nerve-wracking race to rescue the teenager from crime boss Saro Mammoliti (Marco Leonardi).
Based on John Pearson’s book Painfully Rich, All The Money In The World absolves the young Getty of collusion in his own kidnapping.
Scott engineers a stylish and engrossing thriller that makes light work of a robust 133-minute running time, including a nail-biting, climatic set piece that wilfully ignores historical facts.