Gold (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.

My Take – Films often force us to ask the question – how much are your dream worth of? A down to luck person following his American dream with utter determination despite all odds stacked up against him has been the premise for many films even until recently (Michael Keaton starring The Founder for example). But as audience keeps flocking to the cinemas to see our lead protagonist defy everything and achieve his goal, filmmakers & studios are going to continue churning out such kind of films, especially during the awards season. My interest with this Stephen Gaghan as a film went beyond the attractive trailer and the collection of people the film had assembled mainly as the film is loosely based on the true events surrounding the Bre-X mining scandal of 1993. Having seen the film now, I must say this is by far, the oddest film of the Oscar season. Unsuspectingly this 121 minute long film gives you nothing but a story told once too often – a poor-man’s rags-to-riches melodrama, the kind of film that attracts big names because it sounds like too much fun: ugly costumes, wild animals, jungle expeditions, drug consumption, tightie whities, and Iron Maiden t-shirts. Sure, it’s not terrible as some critics are saying it is as the film is quite entertaining with quite some compelling moments and an exciting final act along with yet another standout Matthew McConaughey performance. But the fact is the film is just not good enough to be featured with some other award-based films competing this year. The worst part is that greatness is within its grasp, but in spite of its efforts, talent, and resources, the film just doesn’t dig deep enough. The film is just too weakly written, predictable, and too placid to achieve any loftier ambitions like being a love letter to Martin Scorsese and David O. Russell without ever really admitting it. The story follows Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey), a pot-bellied, greased up chain smoking alcoholic and the heir to the throne of the Washoe Mining Company based in Reno, Nevada, who has been struggling to keep the family business afloat after the death of his father (Craig T. Nelson). His operation is based out of a bar where his girlfriend, Kay (Bryce Dallas Howard), works. In a last-ditch effort to — again, literally — find gold, he uses all of his savings to travel to Indonesia, which he literally dreams about, to speak with geologist Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez), whom he recalls vouching for hidden gold in the jungles of the country.

Wells scrapes together enough money to put together a mining operation with the hope that the two will hit pay dirt. It’s an arduous task, and Wells almost dies from malaria in the process, but eventually, they do find their gold. With Wells’ meteoric financial gain, the film is at its most interesting, revealing how the man cares just as much about his reputation and family name as he does about the substantial money he earns. It is, rather obviously, going to be his undoing; Wall Street bankers are brought in, and they see the gold as a huge investment opportunity. Of course, until everything blows over. It’s a wild ride and doesn’t always take you where you assume it’s headed. The film is “inspired by true events” which basically means only few points are real; however the most important facts are real. The film does not try to be historically accurate; just to show how small companies are used, betrayed and destroyed by the financial marketers in order to protect the biggest corporations and most important how at the end; only the small investors (basically the common people) are the ones that lose their life savings deceived by those “legal scams”. It is a pity Stephen Gaghan (Syriana) did not dig more on the intricacies of the gold market and the big scam it really involves instead on focusing on a hideous character that become just a little likable only because Matthew McConaughey does put in an outstanding effort. Where the film falters more egregiously, though, is in its ultimate insistence that this story is largely about the relationships Wells has with his love, Kay, and his buddy Acosta. Majority of this film is spent showing us how Kenny Wells maneuvers through businessmen that want him to be put down, political groups that want to steal his fortune and friends he can barely trust. It sounds like an amazing film and it could have been had Stephen Gaghan not directed this film himself. Every frame that passes, it feels like Gaghan was either worried about feeling too much like Scorsese or worried that it wasn’t enough like Scorsese. It also contains remnants of 2009’s Middle Men, Johnny Depp starring Blow, and last year’s War Dogs. If this appeals to you, then it might be worth a look. There are cool scenes in it that are bound to interest you even if it’s for a little bit. Still, it sure seems like an odd choice for director Stephen Gaghan. He won a screenplay Oscar for Traffic and got nominated for one with the critically acclaimed Syriana. The plot of the film is actually quite interesting but it doesn’t stray too far away from your typical rise and fall story. This territory’s been explored a thousand times, in films like Wolf of Wall Street or even There Will Be Blood, with more panache and to far greater returns. And what’s most annoying is that the film has the capacity for something bold in that vein, but Gaghan never tap into how ferocious this film could be. The facts are already treated with little care, so it’s strange to see Wells portrayed as a well-off creature with no imagination. No true flair for absurdity. He just scores on a helicopter, or imagines buying a house someday, and ties way more than one off as he sweats and flops around, anxious to keep his riches. He’s not even megalomaniacal in a fascinating, Howard Hughes way. He’s just rich and uncouth. Hope and greed could be viewed as a disease, but for Kenny Wells, we are urged to believe it’s all about the dream.

What’s left if you sell off that dream? Instead, if you aren’t part of the fraud, maybe you live for that moment on stage when they present you the Golden Pick Axe award, and you finally believe your father would respect you. I liked how the film showed how dirty and even slimy the world around mining can be both in the conditions and with the people you have to deal with. No one can begrudge Mike and Kenny of the hard work they did even though things didn’t work out. The film did a decent job explaining the mining process and how hard it was to get things going. If there’s a problem, the bad guys they run into are given very little dimension and they’re pretty interchangeable. You get to see some of the cool things Wells and his friends got to enjoy when they achieved success but it pales in comparison to things in The Wolf of Wall Street. The ambition to fight against globalization, to hold onto your dreams, to recapture lost determination and to let nothing stand in your way in fighting for what you want, is made believable through McConaughey‘s stellar performance. However, in what should be an adventure full of undying speed to keep up with the lustful desire for success, the film’s narrative is too slow to match the pace of Wells’ dreams. The saving grace for the film, however, is that the lead character is played by McConaughey. Though undoubtedly a flawed endeavor, McConaughey turns in a staggeringly impressive performance to ensure this narrative is easy to follow and adhere to. Over the past 5 years, Matthew McConaughey has given us more than enough reason to love his performances. They’re layered, they’re relate-able and, most of all, they’re acted to perfection. He just has this presence and charisma unmatched by the majority of actors in this industry, and these are qualities the role requires, as we have to believe in how he can maneuver and manipulate, how and why he so often gets his way. Right off the bat, this may have been a physically demanding role for McConaughey and he does put his all into his performance but it still doesn’t match the caliber of his previous performances. It’s also essential we invest in the role, which is easily done where McConaughey is concerned, as despite being flawed, you can’t help but root for him, and whether or not this film works hinges on that very fact. The actor has cited this character as his favorite in this career, though while that’s not necessarily something we’d agree with, it’s still a gloriously complex and absorbing role. Bryce Dallas Howard does well with what she’s given, but she barely has time to plant herself in any big scenes. Her biggest moment, a crucial blowup between the happy couple, has a long fuse but leads to a damp fizzle. Edgar Ramírez, meanwhile, underplays, which ultimately makes sense for his character, but renders Acosta something of a blank for much of the running time. Toby Kebbell and Corey Stoll play their parts well. On the whole, ‘Gold’ is an uninspired yet watchable piece of filmmaking that had an excellent script and a great cast to it, yet ended up disappointing despite a strong McConaughey performance.