"All The Money In The World" (2017)

A lot was said about Kevin Spacey and being dumped from this project. More should've been spoken about WHY they didn't even cast an old wretched guy to begin with. Christopher Plummer takes over the role of J. Paul Getty, the richest man (up until that point) in the world and history.
His grandson is kidnapped and 1971 and thus begins the back and forth between kidnappers and the mother of the grandson Abigail Getty (Michelle Williams). She is aided by Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) a man who typically negotiates deals for Getty in regards to business but never really about lives. This is the same to the miser that is Getty. He is a ruthless dealer who won't ever capitulate when it comes to business. A battle won will be a war later on.
The thing that director Ridley Scott adamantly wants you to know is..being rich is actually not all that much fun. Having the means and the wealth means nothing without...contentment. That you can be wealthy and not expect much more. Getty wasn't that person. At the core of a man that driven is bitterness to a deeper sense. My own Mom has these tendencies sometimes. I believe it comes from being a poor farmer. If you make life too easy for your children they will inevitably throw it away which is what Getty's son does and also his grandson (history has proven this to be true). Wealth at the end destroyed the people it was meant to support. And...so the phrase continues "all the money in the world, won't buy you happiness" In this case, it was literally freedom. As the young Getty is kidnapped the question being...did the kidnappers ever take into account this theory?

The film is a nice buoyant flick on whether or not they get the boy back and in how many pieces. It is a little sterile (this is typical of most Ridley Scott flicks). It wants you to sympathize with the Abigail, but I thought her character was a bit two dimensional. Not much to work with when you're constantly suppose to play worried. In the end, being stinking rich does start to feel like a curse according to this movie.
I do wonder why this movie was even made though. What message do we gleam from it. Are the wealthy sometimes more bitter and ugly. We knew that. Are we saying the poor will do what it takes to be rich? Meh. Some choose the latter. Does money destroy families? Kind of. I think at the core, this is what is missing. Why was this movie even made? (Kevin Spacey or not).