Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyer’s Club, Mud) stars as a balding, crooked-toothed, potbellied Nevada gold prospector in a movie that, without his acting talent, would have been completely sifted through the Hollywood stream of consciousness. Instead, while flawed, Stephen Gaghan’s (Syriana, Abandon) Gold is a watchable experience that takes audiences on a wild goose chase along with most of its stars. It ultimately makes the destination an endpoint and the journey worthwhile.
Based on a true story, Gold takes place in the late 1980s. Kenny Wells is seven years removed from his father’s death and the owner of the mining company that he works for. Business hasn’t gone particularly well for Kenny in recent years. He works at his wife Kay’s bar (Bryce Dallas Howard – Rocketman, Terminator Salvation). His hard-sell phone calls trying to get people to invest in his new mining company come up empty. Each potential investor Kenny tries to pitch to reminds him that he has a value of almost nothing, colossal debt, and that living on his father’s good name doesn’t work anymore, especially when investing large amounts of capital. His company is currently trading for four cents a share.
Fast-forward a bit, and Kenny meets an Indonesian geologist who has a knack for finding gold and where exactly to dig in the country. Michael (Edgar Ramirez – The Bourne Ultimatum, Zero Dark Thirty) is edgy and mysterious. Still, he is also extremely friendly with the natives, ready for his next big find after discovering a copper mine in southern Asia. Michael tells the group of men that he can determine where there will be mineralization because of a combination of pressure, heat, and time…his “ring of fire” theory. He has proven successful before. The men are sold. Michael is a sought-after man Kenny is lucky to land, considering he has no money to his name.
From this point on, Gold is full of ups and downs as Kenny, Michael, and Michael’s crew look to strike gold (literally) in this tiny set location on a long river deep in an Indonesian jungle. Michael instantly uses what little money Kenny can provide. In addition, Kenny gets sick with Malaria while he is on location. Despite this, he promises the men he will instill a water purification system for their families in exchange for them staying on the job when they threaten to quit. All the pressure (literally) is on Michael to discover the gold, with time being of the essence.
Gold is a decent film that goes from a C+ to a B because of McConaughey. He’s all in on this not-so-likable nor sympathetic character. It’s not that Kenny is a bad guy. He’s just a guy for whom we have no interest in rooting. He blew through his father’s money and now is struggling to get by. He promises people nothing more than a little bit of luck. Yet his energy is what keeps us focused. There is a sense of emergency in everything he does. You think there would be enough with jungle life, gold, eerie dreams, scummy Wall Street investors, Malaria, southeast Asia military, backstabbing, and double-crosses. And, yes, this is enough for a C+ movie. Instead, McConaughey lifts it to something more through his constant pursuit of riches. There isn’t a moment where he rests, and the few moments where he is not on screen are where the film loses its luster. But even if it weren’t for his brilliance, there’s still enough of a story to keep you interested.
I liked Gold. See it for McConaughey. Stay for what transpires with the arching story.
Plot 8/10
Character Development 7/10
Character Chemistry 7/10
Acting 8/10
Screenplay 7/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 8/10
Universal Relevance 8/10
78%
C+
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie