Windfall was directed by Charlie McDowell and written by Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker. It’s the story of the simply named “Nobody” ( Jason Segel ) who takes The CEO ( Jesse Plemons ) and his wife ( Lily Collins ) hostage in their getaway mansion after robbing them.
PLOT:
Nobody breaks into the somewhat ill tempered multi-billionaire CEO’s mansion, one which isn’t visited particularly often. And they just so happen to be visiting that weekend. They’re the only three people in the house and everyone just wants to make it out okay. Nobody barricaded the couple in a sauna and takes off. Meanwhile, the film is supported by a neat score, enthralling the tension.
CEO and wife break out, only to be recaptured by Nobody who has also aqquired a gun. The film desolves around Nobody shepherding the couple around the mansion as they discuss terms of wealth and hostage freement. Nobody and CEO come to an agreement of half a million dollars in cash, which CEO could arrange to arrive the next day.
Over a variety of conversations it’s clear that the couple is not in an ideal relationship. CEO very much feels he’s found his soulmate, who he plans on having children with, with the charity-oriented wife knew since accepting his hand in marriage – things might be a bit rocky, especially with him leading the decision making. Maybe it’ll be worth it, maybe not, either way she’s toying with his feelings without him knowing.
About 3/4 into the film a gardener ( Omar Leyva ) shows up on the property, a motivated man who takes genuine pride in his work and to make the landscapes around him as beautiful as possible. He’s also the only truely innocent man in all this. His part, though brief, does leave a lasting mark on the remainder of the story.
Despite great potential the film eventually does desolve into a chaotic downfall in quality, ending in a bizarre character driven M. Night style murder twist at the end.
CONCLUSSION:
Despite an engaged performance by everyone involved, backed up by a tension fueling score, Windfall fails in it’s writing to truely captivate tension throughout the majority of the film. While yes, it did have a great start and a few golden bits sprinkled in between the massive scoops of vanilla, that’s mostly what it is; vanilla. It’s vanilla with golden sprinkles. 6.2/10.
-Screenwriter J
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