GREEDY PEOPLE Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Potsy Ponciroli
Stars: Himesh Patel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily James, Tim Blake Nelson, Uzo Aduba, Traci Lords, Simon Rex, Jim Gaffigan, Jose Maria Yazpik, Joey Lauren Adams, Neva Howell.
This blackly comic and atmospheric low budget crime drama from director Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry, etc) and writer Mike Vukadinovich (tv series Runaways, etc) is set in the picturesque small coastal town of Providence in Rhode Island and it very much has a similar vibe to the Coen brothers.
Will (Himesh Patel, from Yesterday, etc) is the new recruit for the small police department. He has moved to this sleepy peaceful community with his heavily pregnant wife Paige (Lily James). Will is nervous and also self-conscious of his inflamed eye. Foul mouthed and cynical veteran cop Terry Brogan (Joesph Gordon-Levitt) is assigned to teach Will the ropes and show him around the town. Terry is a bit of a grifter who knows where to score free coffees and donuts.
But on their first patrol Terry takes time out to have illicit sex with a local woman, leaving Will alone to respond to an emergency call. But due to a misunderstanding Will accidentally kills Virginia (Traci Lords). She is the wife of Wallace, the local fishing tycoon (played by Tim Blake Nelson). In a panic Will urgently asks Terry for help. Fearing the backlash for his own dereliction of duty Terry helps Will cover up their presence at the scene, making it seem as though the murder was part of a burglary. The pair discover a small fortune in cash hidden in a basket and decide to keep the money. Terry and Will stash the cash in a storage unit and make a pact to keep it hidden until everything blows over. Unfortunately, Will tells Paige what happened, but he blames Terry for Virginia’s death.
But events soon begin to spiral out of control with a raft of characters soon caught up in the intrigue, including Keith (Simon Rex, from Red Rocket, etc) a sleazy masseur and his domineering mother, the seafood tycoon and his ambitious personal assistant, all of whom have their own secrets. Murphy (Uzo Aduba, from tv series Orange Is The New Black, etc) is the chief of police who tries to make sense of what is happening in her usually crime free and peaceful backwater. Further complications include a pair of hitmen known only by their nationalities – the Irishman (played by comic actor Jim Gaffigan) and the Colombian (Jose Maria Yazpik).
Suspicions, mistrust, paranoia, murder, blackmail and secrets revealed all add to a growing air of tension, and the film illustrates the destructive nature of greed. The body count rises. The film’s ending is a bit grim, but it brings the story to a satisfactory conclusion. Eric Koretz’s crisp cinematography gives us a strong sense of place.
Ponciroli juggles a great cast of eccentric and amoral characters, all of whom grow desperate and make bad decisions. Ponciroli has assembled a great cast to flesh out these characters. Cast largely against type Gordon-Levitt brings energy, bravado and dry humour to his performance, but he also imbues Terry with a hint of menace. Patel is sympathetic as the put-upon Will. Aduba brings strength to her role as the only virtuous character in the film.
Mark this one down as something of a guilty pleasure.
★★★
