McConaughey goes gonzo in dicey film

It’s too bad that Matthew McConaughey already made “Fool’s Gold” because the movie title would have perfectly suited his latest effort, a bucking-bronco pay-dirt saga titled “Gold” in which he plays a white-trash desperado with a claim to more of the precious metal than he knows what to do with.

Directed with an odd mix of human compassion and giddy abandon by Stephen Gaghan (“Syriana”), “Gold” is a lively portrayal of the American fantasy — where men dream of wealth and success without having to put in the work.

Proudly sporting a pot belly, snaggled teeth and a receding combover, McConaughey turns in a gonzo performance as gold prospector Kenny Wells, who improbably strikes it rich after acting on a hunch that takes him deep into the jungles of Indonesia, only to lose track of the claim as smarter men try to get in on the deal.

Like “American Hustle” or “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Gold” plays fast and loose with its factual origins, allowing McConaughey to become a one-man acting tornado. Even though Gaghan has less directing experience than either David O. Russell or Martin Scorsese, the directors of those films, he never lets the movie spiral out of his grasp.

“Gold” is a movie that could have gone either way.

And some people will surely label it a disaster because of the tonal tightrope it walks, between sincerity and satire.

For those willing to take the characters at face value, though, it provides a deliriously entertaining ride.

After inheriting his father’s mining company, Wells realizes that he has neither the patience nor the gift for such work. He does, though, know his limitations: He turns to a more-experienced geologist, Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez), to help him find a spot that feeds into a river known for its irregular supply of gold.

Wells might seem crazy, but Acosta brings a certain confidence to the endeavor. From his heroic introductory shot, in which a dronemounted camera floats upward to find him standing godlike over a mine, Acosta gets the sort of flattering treatment most stars only wish they could get. But favoring him subliminally works to make Wells seem

relatively unreliable.

There’s something off about the way Wells is negotiating this deal, and even though the underwearclad dreamer nearly dies of malaria right at the exploration site, everything seems to come a little too easy.

Punch-drunk on the prospect of having discovered the richest gold deposit of the century, Wells returns to America, where everyone treats him differently — except his girlfriend, Kay (Bryce Dallas Howard), who can’t resist upgrading her wardrobe but otherwise sees Wells as she always has.

Kay serves as the story’s soul.

As Wells’ good fortune brings considerable complications, before long he is beset by Wall Street sharks. One minute, he’s ringing the stock exchange’s opening bell; the next, he’s desperately trying to save his company.

During the jungle scenes, the film feels akin to “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” meets “The African Queen.” The rest recalls movies such as “Boiler Room” and “The Sting,” in which viewers can’t be quite sure who’s getting played, or even what the angle is.

Perhaps the biggest clue comes from an incredulous young man (Toby Kebbell) with plenty of tough questions for Wells.

Gaghan understandably wants to tell the best story, but he doesn’t seem to have any answers — or else he coyly thinks that ambiguity should be more entertaining.

The film works because the actor has made it personal, tapping into the life-ordeath stakes he watched his daddy follow as an oil-pipe salesman.

Even though Gaghan’s ending can’t decide whether “Gold” is a tragedy, Kenny Wells is a character we won’t soon forget.