As the wealth gap widens by margins even the most dystopian fiction couldn’t imagine, the rage of those without means will begin to escape through unusual methods. Jason Segel’s unnamed everyman chooses simple breaking and entering, while director Charlie McDowell vents by crafting one of the most detestable wealthy monsters ever put to screen.
McDowell is best known for 2014’sThe One I Loveand 2017’sThe Discovery, both of which, likeWindfall, were collaborations with screenwriter Justin Lader.Se7enscreenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker shares a co-writer credit with Lader, and the film’s star also holds a Story By on the list. The film’s tiny cast includes Segel, Lily Collins ofMankfame, andThe Power of the Dogstar Jesse Plemons, along with veteran character actor Omar Leyva.
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The plot is as simple as the trailers would lead one to believe. A scruffyman billed as Nobodyby the script (Segel) breaks into the palatial estate of a tech billionaire. He casually snags a handful of cash and a nice watch before he’s interrupted by the unexpected return of the home’s occupants. The homeowner, an immensely hateable CEO (Plemons), and his long-suffering wife (Collins) are as obliging as they can be to the man who is robbing them, but the situation devolves swiftly. Armed with a pilfered handgun, the burglar is unable to devise a successful plan and new problems arise at every turn. The situation is less frightening than it is overwhelmingly awkward as a few minutes slowly becomes a multi-day kidnapping. It’s aborderline Hitchcockian bottle noir, with nothing to do but fight it out about income inequality and marital woes.
The film displays some strong cinematography, courtesy of Isiah Donté Lee, but the draw is certainly the performance. Segel’s reluctant, struggling, cynical burglar seamlessly shifts from angrily berating his targets to smoothly tugging strings and driving wedges. Collins is the bridge between the two men, trying desperately to put out fires while regularly attacking her useless husband. Plemons is the MVP, however. His unnamed CEO would come across as amean-spirited caricature of a rich personto people less acquainted with the news but in the modern-day, he hits bracingly close to home. He’s smug, overconfident, impatient, cruel, and genuinely convinced that he’s earned what he has and that anyone below his income bracket deserves to be. It’s the in-person apotheosis of the bootstraps mentality that allows people like him to exist.
It’s hard not to feel for two out of three of the people involved. Sure, Segel’s a criminal and a terrible one at that, but his points are mostly reasonable. Collins is the most sympathetic character by far. Lacking both the seemingly illicit intent of the robber and the insufferable attitude of the victim, she’s left in a genuinely difficult situation. Everyone involved recognizes the problems at hand, especially given Chekhov’s gun sitting in Segel’s hand for the entire runtime. The entire film is spent on pins and needles. The trio sits around chatting, wanders the massive gated area, and even takes in a movie in between discussing a way everyone can get out alive. Though a lot of the time is spent sitting around, there’s never a dull moment. The audience will have a hard timeseeing the next twist, even as they mount atop each other.
The music is a high point, constant tense strings fill the elegant halls and massive orchard. Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans are a hugely popular songwriting duo for film and video games.FromAmerican GodstoThe White Tiger, toFor Honor, they’ve been heard everywhere. Their compositions are typically excellent, and they liven up the somewhat repetitive scenery while heightening the tension. There’s not any licensed music breaking up the flow, it’s just harsh staccato strings and heart-pounding rhythm.
Windfallisn’t the most original movie ever made. It owes a lot to plentyof old noir classics. It almost feels like a theater production. The acting is solid across the board, the writing is perfectly functional, the presentation perfectly fits the scene, and the film as a whole is a tight, contained ride. It’s a thriller on an impressively small scale, yet it never feels meaningless. The film rides the line between tense dramaand grim black comedyfor the majority of its runtime, but its final moments take a severe turn. The final few minutes of the film feel drastically different from the preceding hour and change. It’ll change viewers' opinions one way or the other, but it could be a harsh enough swerve that some are turned off.
Despite a strange moment or two and some strange character choices, the social commentary, solid performances, and gripping tension work the entire way through.Windfallis available now on Netflix, and it’s well worth looking in on this tense battle of wills.
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Windfall
Directed by Charlie McDowell, Windfall is a 2022 Thriller and Crime film starring Jesse Plemons, Jason Segel, and Lily Collins. The Netflix release sees a burglar targeting a CEO and his wife.
