Greed (Michael Winterbottom, 2020): UK

Written by Abby Isadora Haydon at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The scene opens in a steam room of the spa at the La Cumbra Country Club in Santa Barbara. There are three women wrapped  in towels, sitting near each other. As the camera comes closer, the audience can tell they are middle aged, pleasingly plump women.   One looks a bit bored and starts to talk.

EDNA: Hey Phyllis, did you see that new movie Greed?

PHYLLIS: No, is it good?

This perks up the third woman who quickly answers.

SYLVIA:  I did. I felt like it was a waste of ticket money.  I didn’t like it.

PHYLLIS: Why?

EDNA: I didn’t think it was that bad! It wasn’t the best movie I have ever seen, but I enjoyed seeing all the                              displays of extreme wealth.

PHYLLIS” What is it about?

Edna and Sylvia look at each other and Sylvia gives her a nod.

EDNA: It is about a guy who is super rich. He is turning 60 and decides to have a big birthday bash on a                                  Greek island.  He flys in a lot of people to celebrate with him.  As the movie opens they are all arriving.                         Even though his name is Mc Creadie, everyone in the movie calls him Greedy because of his horrible                           business practices.

SYLVIA: Yeah, I couldn’t believe that guy. He wants his ex-wife and his kids to be there. But then he has the nerve                    to  bring along a tart that is a third of his age. I do have to say that the ex wife handled it better than I                           would.

EDNA:     The party has a Roman theme. In the beginning we see that he  is having a replaca of the  Collusium in                         Rome built for the occasion.   When it is finished it wil be complete with an old,  tired- looking lion.

SYLVIA: I thought the guys building the Collusium were the only really funny part of the movie. They played off                       each other very well.

EDNA:    I did find it annoying that whoever edited it kept cutting to many different times and events in Greedy’s                     life. It was hard to keep track of the timeline.

SYLVIA:  Greedy was worse than Donald Trump! He kept buying businesses for millions of dollars and then                                they went belly up time and time again. Yet he just kept getting more money.

EDNA:    My problem with the movie was that I just couldn’t hate him. No matter how many bad business                                  deals he defaulted on, Steve Coogan just came off as a nice guy who was overwhelmed.

PHYLLIS: Dispite all you have said I still want to see it. I love movies that show the “Lifestyles of the Rich and                               Famous”. Don’t tell me the end.

SYLVIA:    You can probably figure it out from what we have said so far, but ENJOY!

Edna and Sylvia start to laugh and Phyllis joins in.