GOLD Review

Kenny Wells is a mess and that is pretty evident from the moment he appears on screen hoping to charm the curls right out of Bryce Dallas Howard's eighties frizzled hair, but even as he does this it's easy to tell there is no real thought behind his actions other than what the immediate rewards might be. This is key to understanding the type of mentality we'll be working with for the next two hours as Wells is a man who believes himself lucky to have been born into a family that started a mining company and who intends to carry it on even after the death of his father (Craig T. Nelson). Wells takes the idea from his father that they don't necessarily have to do this for a living as it's a crap shoot of a business, but instead pride themselves of getting to do this for a living. The question they're seemingly missing the answer to though, is the ever-present why? What are they doing this for? Seven years on after the passing of the elder Wells and Matthew McConaughey's Kenny has his men working out of a bar, trying to keep a lid on expenses, and coming up short in seemingly everything, but chiefly in keeping his family's business afloat. As a man who can't help but to try and survive for the next few weeks rather than the next twenty years Wells sees no other option other than to do whatever it takes to keep that business running. He is a man who puts a lot of stock in legacy in the way that he seems to inherently ask himself how proud his father would be were he to still be alive-would he be happy with what Kenny has done with their business? After the rather stirring opening and tone-setting title card fade away it becomes pretty clear that Kenny Wells is in a position neither his father nor his grandfather ever found themselves in. The guy is desperate to find backers for digs that no one believes in and that no one seems to believe will yield any results. Sure, Wells has responsibilities to his employees that are dedicated enough to work out of that aforementioned bar, to Howard's Kay who has stuck with him still and now works at that same bar as a waitress most of the time doubling as his secretary, but the biggest responsibility Kenny feels is clearly to that legacy he is set to taint. And so, Wells takes a chance, a risk-one that could fail just as easy as it could succeed, but one that perfectly encapsulates and sets the stage for how this protagonist McConaughey fully commits to will operate in the mostly entertaining circumstances Gold presents.   

First Trailer for GOLD Starring Matthew McConaughey

Fool's Gold this is not though Matthew McConaughey once again stars and the point of the story is to seek out a lost treasure. Gold really shouldn't be thought of as any type of relation to that 2008 rom-com though, as it marks the first film from writer/director Stephen Gaghan (Syriana) in over a decade. Having no idea what the film was about before seeing this initial trailer and only having McConaughey's choice to go bald atop his head as the main identifier I wasn't sure what to expect, but having now caught a glimpse of what Gaghan has in store for us I am certainly more intrigued. Telling the true story of the Bre-X Mineral Corporation mining scandal the film follows a struggling businessman who teams up with a hapless geologist to find gold in the Indonesian jungle. McConaughey looks to be in full Oscar-mode here as not only has he gone bald, but he's added a bit of a belly and just looks downright sweaty and smarmy throughout this entire clip. After seeing Hands of Stone last week and given he's part of the ensemble in the sure to be hit adaptation of The Girl on the Train later this fall I'm more interested in the career of Edgar Ramirez and what he might do in the future so it's good to see him alongside McConaughey and in a prestigious picture such as this. That said, Gaghan didn't have a hand in penning this screenplay as he did for his Oscar-winning Syriana and Traffic. Still, given this is only the director's third major motion picture one has to assume many of his tendencies and instincts to tell a story will align with what has provided a solid track record thus far. Hopefully, the script was so good already Gaghan didn't feel it needed polishing before taking it on. We can hope. Regardless, this trailer certainly sells the film well with the influence of Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone evident. Gold also stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Toby Kebbell, Rachael Taylor, Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Bruce Greenwood, Stacy Keach, Adam LeFevre, Timothy Simons, Macon Blair, and opens wide on Christmas day.