Film: Mountainhead

 

GENRE: Drama
RATING: R for lots of language and some violence
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 48 minutes
PLATFORM: HBO Max (Crave)
STARRING: Steve Carell (The Office, The Morning Show, Beautiful Boy)
Cory Michael Smith (Saturday Night); Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore)
DIRECTOR: Jesse Armstrong (newcomer)
WRITER: Jesse Armstrong (Succession, The Thick of It)
PLOT: Four obscenely rich friends hang out while the world burns.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I liked Succession and the actors involved in this.

STORY STUFF: This film was disturbing but in a good way. The talking is rapidly paced like the show Succession and some of the topics went over my head at times. Glad I had the subtitles on. The humour is incredibly dark as these rich guys make light of the tragic economic crisis in the world that is leading to AI infused hysteria. And it only gets darker from there.  

ACTING STUFF: The film is a four-hander so the casting is important and top-notch. I like when Carell gets to have a dark side. Schwartzman is always great at showing misplaced confidence. Smith is on a roll lately and fun to watch in his douche-y role. The fourth role is Ramy Youssef (Ramy) who is the voice of reason but pours it on a little thick. All four are a treat to watch as they play off each other in this film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The rich, winter cabin-style house and its surrounding areas are beautiful. Kudos on the set design and location manager. The music is effective throughout.

VERDICT: Three and half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You liked Succession and can laugh at real life absurdity.
UPCOMING REVIEW: The Phoenician Scheme