The film tells the story of the 1973 kidnapping of J. Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer). He's held for an exorbitant ransom, but the kidnappers figure that since the young man's grandfather is J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), the richest man in the world, he shouldn't have a problem paying it. They don't know Getty, a notorious cheapskate and skinflint who first refuses to pay any ransom, and then tries to negotiate it down to only an amount that is tax deductible. This naturally infuriates the boy's mother Gail Harris (Michelle Williams), who works with Getty family security chief Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) on getting the boy home safely.
Director Scott keeps things moving swiftly along, offering various snapshot flashbacks to moments in the Getty family past to help illustrate the unique familial ties at play. Michelle Williams continues to show an amazing amount of range in her characterizations and accent work. Wahlberg has little to do, and is at times a distraction, although he gets a good "telling 'em off" scene near the end. Charlie Plummer (no relation to Christopher) is good as the unfortunate kidnap victim, and I was impressed with Romain Duris as a sympathetic kidnapper. But all eyes were on Christopher Plummer when this was released, thanks to all of the controversy.
As most will recall, original co-star Kevin Spacey became the focus of much public outrage after accusations against him were made, and director Scott and the film's other producers made the unusual decision to completely reshoot his scenes with Plummer in the role, all mere weeks before the movie's scheduled release. Not only did they succeed, but I can't imagine Spacey being nearly as good as Plummer is as the soulless Getty patriarch. Plummer's Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor was viewed by many as acknowledging the logistical accomplishment, , as much as for the actual performance. But while I could argue that Plummer's is actually a co-leading role, I will say that his nomination was warranted for the acting job.
