All the Money in the World

   This new drama from director Ridley Scott is yet another "based on a true story" film this holiday season. It tells the story of the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty's grandson in 1973.

    One of the things that has the film getting so much attention is that Mr. Scott had finished the film with Kevin Spacey played J. Paul Getty. Once the sex scandal around Mr. Spacey broke, Mr. Scott recast the role with Christopher Plummer (his original first choice) and reshot all his scenes in an incredibly short time to still get the film released by Christmas. One may never know about Mr. Spacey's performance but Mr. Plummer is fantastic.

         Michele Williams plays Gail Harris, Getty's daughter-in-law and the mother of the kidnapped boy. What the kidnappers don't know is that Ms. Harris has divorced her husband, Paul Getty and has no money to pay the ransom. Mark Wahlberg plays Fletcher Chase, a private security agent employed by Mr. Getty and assigned to help Ms. Harris in her attempt to find her son without giving her the money for the ransom.

         As the frantic mother, Ms. Williams is terrific, desperate to find her son despite no help from her father-in-law. Mr. Wahlberg is an odd choice as Chase but he grows into the part and holds his own in scenes with Mr. Plummer. The film also co-stars Charlie Plummer (no relation) as the kidnapped teen, Timothy Hutton as Oswald Hinge, Getty's lawyer, and Roman Duris as a sympathetic kidnapper.

         Mr. Scott keeps the action moving and the story, even if you know the outcome, is suspenseful and tense. There is a great attention to detail and a testament to Mr. Scott for reshooting quickly and not missing a beat.  Mr. Plummer, at 80 years old, is all but guaranteed an Oscar nomination as his performance is so good, his presence is felt even when he's not on screen.