The richest man in the world for 20 years, his grandson was kidnapped but not given a penny …… The wealthy end of the money world is a loneliness we can’t understand. Deeply impressed by Plummer senior’s acting skills. Thanks to director Ridley Scott, at the age of 80, for bringing us the incomparable “All the Money in the World”. His stinginess and extreme pursuit of art make the philosophy of the rich a bit cruel, and also make this world-shaking kidnapping case full of legend and human reflection.
Perhaps poverty limits our imagination to understand Paul Getty’s callous treatment of his loved ones. But it is true that the logic of the rich is difficult to measure by the codes of behaviour of ordinary people. There is a scene in the film in which a young grandson accompanies an elderly Paul Getty in the ancient Colosseum in Rome, where snowflakes are falling, and he listens to his own legends about the Colosseum’s emperors. What a tender picture of a grandfather and grandson together, with an extra special touch in his feelings for this grandson. But when his grandson was kidnapped and the kidnappers demanded $17 million in ransom, the elder Getty wouldn’t pay a penny and said to the foreign press, “I have 14 grandchildren, and if I put up a penny, then I will have 14 grandchildren who have been kidnapped.”
It was these cruel words that brought out the aloofness of the old Getty capitalist. But when you look at his philosophy of life, it is not difficult to understand his indifference to family. Paul Getty’s father, with his wisdom, laid the initial capital for the Getty family’s business empire, but it was Paul Getty who started out as a junior employee. The philosophy of struggle that he practised and endorsed was not to stand on the shoulders of giants, but to slowly hone himself from the lowest employee into a business giant. Only such a person would be qualified to take over the vast black gold empire. His sons and daughters, on the other hand, have turned into parasites one by one, wanting only his money to provide for him. The flesh and blood of the dear ones on earth have also become a bargain with a clear price tag, so ask who can still give and trust without a bottom line?
The end of wealth has transcended the ethical human norm of ordinary families. The old Getty, built up by money and standing at the top of the business kingdom, is the one who is so selfish, indifferent and stingy that, as he himself says, he does not trust anyone.
The opposite of the old Getty is the great mother’s love. When her son was kidnapped, she was the only one who worried about it. Although, at first, she had her doubts that it was a farce, her motherly nature made her languish in disbelief until she was convinced that her son had really been kidnapped. The great mother, who gave up the astronomical division of her fortune to fight for custody of her children, is equally wise in the face of her kidnappers, calm and level-headed, mediating between them and the elder Getty. Michelle Williams is full of feminine brilliance as Gail. Although the look is messy to fit the character’s mood, the whole person’s calm wisdom in the midst of anxiety is something that has the power to penetrate the heart.
The whole of All the Money in the World is legendary. The story is legendary and the actors are even more so. Directors Ridley Scott and Christopher Plummer (as Paul Getty), both in their 80s, have created yet another legend in film history, changing roles and reshooting a month before release, completing it in nine days, and getting a 2018 Oscar nomination: Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, thanks to Plummer’s outstanding performance.
It is said that Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg Wahlberg (as Fletcher Chase, the former CIA bodyguard-in-training who makes the important twist to the kidnapping) is the real hero of the film, and forgive me, but old Getty is a complete overshadowing of his sexy, handsome leading man, both in and out of character.
Christopher Plummer’s portrayal of the king of the black gold empire is a masterful portrayal of the former richest man in the world, the meanest, loneliest, softest at heart, and shamelessly bastard Paul Getty, the oil lord who has a knack for reading people’s minds, catching his enemies’ weaknesses, negotiating, and delivering the killing blow at the perfect time. But this is the Getty I that is infinitely closer to the real thing.
The richest man in the world for 20 years, whose grandson was kidnapped but not given a penny …… The wealthy end of the money world is a loneliness we cannot understand. Deeply convinced by Plummer senior’s acting skills.
