Money Monster – Movie Review

Movie Monster – R
Release Date: Fri 13 May 2016

Jodie Foster directs the story of finance show host Lee Gates (George Clooney) who is taken hostage during his live show by an investor (Jack O’Connell) who has lost everything. Gates must try to help the investor try to solve the mystery of a massive stock loss with only the help of the show’s director (Julia Roberts) in his ear.

Money Monster (also the name of the financial show) manages to keep the tension and mystery going to keep the 98 minutes taut. There are some clever subversions of expectation and the movie mostly avoids well-worn paths. It’s not an inherently blue collar vs. white collar story, nor does it paint “the banks” as a vague unseen evil. Each danger subsides to open up a new one in an interesting way.

I would have preferred the movie to end just a sequence earlier instead of the aftermath/epilogue scene that there is. There’s something about the preceding scene that is such a powerful summary and statement on the audience’s investment (or lack thereof) that it would have made for a stronger exclamation point.

Still, Money Manager is well acted, written and directed and well worth the time to see.

Amber, Aaron and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car: