Movie
Name/Year: The
Laundromat (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Length: 95 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Anonymous Content, Grey Matter
Productions, Netflix, Topic Studios, TriPictures
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Jake Bernstein, Scott Z. Burns
Actors: Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Meryl
Streep, James Cromwell, Jeff Michalski, Jane Morris, Robert Patrick, Chris
McLaughlin, Jay Paulson, Melissa Rauch, Juliet Donenfeld, Brock Brenner, Larry
Clarke, David Schwimmer, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone,
Daniyar, Alexander Stasko, Cristela Alonzo, Myron Parker Wright, Miriam A.
Hyman, Veronica Osorio, Brenda Zamora, Zandy Hartig, Jessica Allain, Nonso
Anozie, Miracle Washington, Larry Wilmore, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Matthias
Schoenaerts, Rosalind Chao, Ming Lo
Blurb
from IMDb: In
this The Big Short (2015)-esque dramedy based on the Mossack Fonseca scandal, a
cast of characters investigate an insurance fraud, chasing leads to a pair of a
flamboyant Panama City law partners exploiting the world's financial system.
Selina’s
Point of View:
I really
wish this was a Friday because I could genuinely use Cat’s input on The
Laundromat. Normally, we don’t discuss our reviews before posting them (so
that we don’t influence each other’s opinion), but I would have liked to talk
this one out.
It
was weird. It took a story that another production company would have turned
into one of those biography movies that all look the same, and it turned the
whole thing into a comedy. The thing is, the story itself was not meant to be a
comedy. Still, it kind of worked.
A
little.
Maybe?
I
have to admit, I’m having trouble deciding.
There
was a lot of fourth-wall breaking and active narration-type storytelling. That’s
not normally something I go for, but it has worked for me on occasion. My
favorite film ever utilizes the same kind of talking-to-the-audience narration.
It has to be done right, and The Laundromat does do it very well. There’s
a certain chemistry between Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Dark
Knight, Darkest Hour) and Antonio Banderas (The Skin I Live In, Black
Butterfly, Security) that makes it look like they were just having a ton of
fun in their roles. Whenever there’s that kind of chemistry on screen, it’s
hard to look way.
The plot
is based on real life so I can’t really say much about it. I have some recollection
of the news cycle when the Panama Papers came to light, but not enough to
really comment on the validity of everything shown in this film.
My
opinion went up and down throughout the whole thing. Even the ending: I both
loved and hated it. It felt preachy – even a little cheesy, but I also agreed
with what it was preaching, so it’s difficult for me to completely hate it. I
do feel like they could have removed a bit of it and come out with a much
better film.
In
the end, despite my confusion, I have to give the creators credit. They took a
story that could have been the heart of a lowest-common-denominator Oscar-bait
film and made something unendingly unique with it. If I remember anything about
The Laundromat, it will be that.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 41%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 45%
Metascore – 57/100
Metacritic
User Score – 5.5/10
IMDB
Score – 6.3/10
CinemaScore – None
Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3.5/5
Movie
Trailer:
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