L
ast October, as the whole world debated the million-dollar question — Can we separate the art from the artist? — when a slew of sexual assault allegations were made public about Kevin Spacey, one man already had his answer.
That man is Ridley Scott. On November 8, a week after Spacey’s predatory behaviour came to light and a few days since his insensitive “sorry-not sorry-I’m gay” apology, Scott announced that he would be replacing the actor, cast as oil baron J Paul Getty in All The Money In The World.
At the time, 80-year-old Scott’s quasi-biopic, quasi-thriller, had been wrapped up on-time and under-budget, a trailer had been released and it was understood that the studio would aggressively pursue an Oscar campaign for Spacey. In fact, Scott had even moved on to his next project. But, then the tide turned. With six weeks left for the film’s December 25 release, veteran actor Christopher Plummer was brought in at the last-minute and Scott did something that was absolutely unprecedented in Hollywood: Not just reshooting an already finished movie, but displaying a spine of steel.
Christopher Plummer builds up J Paul Getty as a man of great contrasts. Image credit: Scott Free Productions
A ransom of $17 million was demanded by Paul’s Italian kidnappers, who keep him locked safe in a mountain hideout. His mother is grief-stricken, but Paul’s grandfather, for whom $17 million is spare change, refuses to pay the ransom. The elder Getty justifies this by saying, “I have 14 grandchildren. If I pay the ransom, I’ll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren.” Much of the film aims to decipher the man behind the reputation. Plummer humanises a character destined to be the villain of the proceedings. It is only in the actor’s hands that we get the absolutely saddening portrait of a man held prisoner by his extreme wealth. Plummer builds up Getty as a man of great contrasts. On one hand, he is too miserly to pay for laundry service in hotels, choosing to wash his clothes himself. On the other, he is considered so magnanimous that people from all around the world send him letters asking for help; ones that he sincerely replies to. By his own admission, Getty trusts and loves inanimate objects more than people. He is most at attention when he is handed pieces of paper that inform him about stock market numbers, a stark contrast to his apparent disinterest in his kidnapped grandson’s life. In a standout scene, Getty’s sense of priorities are neatly highlighted in a cold, dramatised scene where he spends $1.5 million to acquire a rare painting even as his grandson remains locked.One viewing of All The Money In The World is enough to confirm that Ridley Scott has been successful in pulling off a masterpiece
Ridley Scott not only reshot 22 scenes that Spacey was in, but also group scenes, and completely overhauled the marketing campaign at the extra expense of a few million dollars.
Image credit: Scott Free Productions
