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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 October 2023

On 27 January 2021, a friend sent the following message to a small group chat I’m a part of – “Are you guys following the gamestop stock price atm and the back story?” to which I responded “Nah, got a story link?”  I then fell down the rabbit hole and read countless articles, tweets, and threads about an event which was both riveting and alarming.  Even as it was happening, you knew it would be covered in finance textbooks for decades to come.

If you’re new to the tale, it revolved around a GameStop, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange which operated video game stores around the world.  Its 2019 financial statements painted a bleak picture.  Revenue hadn’t grown in a decade, the company had recorded a record loss of $673 million USD, and the share price was falling.  An article published on the Nasdaq website on 9 March 2020 described it as “the most shorted stock in the market.”  In other words, investors had taken positions which would allow them to profit if the share price fell further.

What followed in the months ahead was unprecedented.  A YouTuber named “Roaring Kitty” started hyping the stock and his views were heavily promoted on the social new platform Reddit.  He’d also put “his money where his mouth is” and wasn’t afraid to show the public how much of his own portfolio (most of his life savings) he’d invested into GameStop.

It took a little while for momentum to build but by January 2021, a national “movement” had been created where a hoard of investors, many with no experience whatsoever, were buying the stock and pushing up its value.  In the 9 months between April 2020 and January 2021, the share price went from $2.57 to $483.00 – an increase of 18,694%!  Shareholders were loving it but on the flip side, the major hedge funds who had shorted the company were now racking up billions in losses.

I’m impressed by how quickly this story has been adapted into multiple art forms.  A three-part documentary, Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga, debuted on Netflix in September 2022.  Acclaimed author Ben Mezrich, who wrote the novel upon which The Social Network was based, had a book in stores by September 2021.  It’s Mezrich’s work which serves as the source material for Dumb Money, helmed by Australian director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya).

I’ll admit to already knowing much of what we see on screen, but Gillespie and his crew deserve credit for taking a wide breadth of material and condensing it into a tight 104 minutes.  The cast are terrific with each actor given just enough time to help us understand their perspective – from Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) as the socially awkward YouTuber to Seth Rogen (The Fablemans) as an overconfident hedge fund manager.

In addition to being eye-opening and educational, the film also provides many amusing sequences.  Some of these are short and sweet (Pete Davidson as a DoorDash delivery driver) while others take time to build (arguments around the family dinner table when Dano’s character talks about how much money he’s made).  Gillespie also finds humour in the unusual time period, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, by having certain characters wear face masks (the stuff between Dane DeHaan and Anthony Ramos is great).

Helping win audiences over with its Little Guy beating the Big Guy narrative, Dumb Money is entertaining and engaging.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 October 2023

Writer-director François Ozon (8 Women) talks about this latest film as paying “tribute to the wittiness of American screwball comedies from the 1930s.”  It’s an apt description.  The Crime is Mine is an off-the-rails French comedy that becomes more outlandish with each scene.  Actors deliberately overplay their respective characters, and goofy plot twists are used at any opportunity.

Also set in the 1930s, it’s centred on a struggling actress, Madeleine (Tereszkiewicz), who has been accused of murdering a renowned film/theatre producer and stealing 300,000 francs.  She’s innocent of the crime but, in teaming up with her conniving lawyer housemate (Marder), she pleads guilty and goes to a full public trial.

Her rationale is both risky and brilliant.  She will take the witness stand, lie about what happened, proclaim it was self-defence, and be then exonerated by a sympathetic jury.  Given the notoriety of the deceased producer, the trial will receive front page news across France.  If you can connect the dots, this will then provide Madeleine with her own fame which she can use to kickstart a long, successful career on the stage.  She’s got nothing to lose… well, except her freedom.  It’s reminiscent of what Roxie Hart was trying to do in the Broadway musical Chicago.

As assortment of supporting characters have a part to play with well-known actors Dany Boon (Welcome to the Sticks), Fabrice Luchini (Women on the 6^th Floor), and Isabelle Huppert (Elle) chiming in with their distinctive roles.  The cast are enjoying themselves and, to an extent, their zaniness is imparted on the audience.  I only wish the script was tighter.  Several scenes drag on too long (like the courtroom stuff) but that said, the film finishes on a high.  The best material is saved for the final act which wraps up the narrative in a fun, twisting way.

If looking for a new comedy which pays homage to old ones, The Crime is Mine fits the bill.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 October 2023

The flight time from Havana, Cuba to Key West, United States is roughly 40 minutes but, if you decided to swim instead, it’s a hell of a lot longer.  That was the self-imposed challenge of 64-year-old Diana Nyad who in 2013 became the first person (apparently) to swim across the Straits of Florida.  It was a 177km journey that look 53 hours and was completed with no sleep and without the aid of shark protective cage.  The achievement resulted in her becoming a quasi-celebrity which public speaking engagements, and a stint on the American TV series Dancing with the Stars.

It’s Diana’s 2015 memoir that serves as the source material for this biopic from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the married duo who won an Oscar five years ago for their edge-of-your-seat documentary Free Solo.  Nyad has the appearance of an uplifting, stereotypical “winning against all odds” tale and to an extent, that’s true.  You’ve got characters pointedly telling us about how you should never give up on your dreams despite how old you are.

To avoid this becoming too formulaic and predictable, screenwriter Julia Cox wisely adds other layers to the film.  Some of these are excellent.  The best is the interplay between Diana (Bening) and her loyal coach, Bonnie (Foster).  There’s a line from Bonnie which sums it up best – “do you have any idea how exhausting you are as a friend?”  It taps into the theme that in doing everything possible to achieve our own ambitions, we often forget the needs of those around us.

Both Annette Bening (American Beauty) and Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs) are terrific in illustrating the relationship between the two characters.  They’re not connected romantically… but it’s an incredibly close friendship where they often behave like a long-married couple.  When Diana stands up at a backyard BBQ and starts talking about herself too much, Bonnie quickly changes the topic in a way that minimises any hurt feelings.  She’s a skilled operator.

Other subplots aren’t handled as smoothly.  There’s a backstory involving child abuse which is fleetingly touched upon in quick flashbacks.  We don’t fully understand what happened to Diana nor how it has shaped the person she is today.  Qualms regarding her not-so-great father are also hinted at but never fleshed out.  One of the film’s least convincing elements is the way it shows Diana’s hallucinations (bright lights, Taj Mahals) while swimming.  I know it’s not easy trying to visualise what’s going through someone’s head but yeah, I wasn’t a fan of this approach.

With a supporting cast headlined by a scene-stealing Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Nyad is far from perfect (just like its protagonist) but worth a look-see.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 October 2023

Drawing from Philippe Besson’s 2017 novel, Lie with Me is an engaging French film with the ideal blend of comedy, drama, and love.  It’s centred on Stéphane Belcourt (de Tonquédec), a globally recognised romance writer who has returned to his childhood hometown for the first time in 35 years.  He’s been selected as the keynote speaker at an annual Cognac festival – an obligation which add-on commitments such as book signings, media interviews, and formal dinners.

The trip brings back a flood of memories which are illustrated by director Olivier Peyon through use of flashbacks.  It was in his final year of high school that then 17-year-old Stéphane (Gillet) fell in love for the first time.  Stéphane was an openly gay teenager but the object of his affection, Lucas Andrieu (Belmondo), remained in the closet – partly because of his insecurity and partly because of his conservative parents.

Largely confined to the bedroom and other secluded locations, it was a love affair which lasted only a few months before the school year ended and Lucas moved to Spain to work on his family’s farm.  The pair never saw each other again.  While much has happened to Stéphane in the decades which followed, the memories of that first love remain vivid and, while he’ll coyly deny it in public, they’ve served as inspiration for many of his most successful books.

The catalyst for the current day drama arrives in the form of a young man, Thomas (de Saint-Jean), who is acting as festival tour guide for a group of wealthy Americans.  He is Lucas’s son and when Stéphane draws the connection, it creates as many questions as it does answers.  Where is Lucas today?  Does Thomas know about the teenage tryst his father had with Stéphane?  Is this all just a crazy coincidence?

The concept could easily come across as phoney and contrived, but the four-person screenwriting team make it work and the performances are superb.  There are so many great individual moments.  From a scene where Stéphane meets Lucas’s elderly mother… to a subplot involving a visit to a hidden lake, Lie with Me will, most likely, generate an emotional response from audiences.  To help break up the poignancy, Guilaine Londez adds a splash of comedy with her performance as a stressed festival organiser.

Bolstered by a great music score from experimental composer Thylacine, Lie with Me is a beautiful, interesting story.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 October 2023

The actors’ strike continues in Hollywood and this has allowed a few smaller films, which would not otherwise be released here, to sneak into Australian cinemas.  That’s a good thing in the case of Oink.  It’s a stop motion animated feature to come from Viking Film, a production company established in 2011 and based in The Netherlands.  The version we’re seeing uses English voices (it’s all very seamless) to ensure it’s more accessible for younger audiences.

The storyline is incredibly cute.  A 9-year-old vegan girl named Gretchen is gifted a pet pig as a birthday present from her estranged grandfather.  Suffice to say her parents aren’t pleased.  They don’t want a filthy, noisy, untrained animal messing up the house and destroying the backyard vegetable garden.  Further, they can’t understand Grandad’s motivations.  Given he’s a former butcher who has made a life out of breeding pigs and turning them into award-winning pork sausages, they’re confused as to why he suddenly sees the creatures as adorable pets.

I love the way director Mascha Halberstad blends high-tone with low-tone.  There are scenes where the pig, given the name Oink, is pooping all over the house (there’s lots of it!) and causing a ruckus when sent off to “puppy” school.  I’m a mature adult (well, at least I think so) but even I get a childish laugh at what can be achieved on screen with claymation poo!  Kids should find it hilarious.

These goofy laughs are offset by darker humour and more serious narratives.  In interviews for the film’s promotion, Halberstad has spoken about her love of Roald Dahl books and the way they feature characters who are both charming and villainous.  It’s a big reason she was drawn to the source material of Oink, a book authored by Tosca Menten.  I don’t want to give too much away but the film gets a little scary in places and offers up lessons for younger crowds.

Much effort goes into stop motion and it’s no surprise to see the film clock in at just 72 minutes.  It’s more than enough though.  There’s no unnecessary padding, no unnecessary subplots.  It couldn’t crack a nomination at the Academy Awards (I’d have voted for it) but it did earn a nod at the 2022 European Film Awards (where is lost to No Dogs or Italians Allowed).  It also picked up the award for best feature at the 2022 Netherlands Film Festival and, confirming my own view, this again illustrates its appeal with people of all ages.