TWC-DimensionMatthew McConaughey’s transformative performance is the only good thing about this messy drama that is cliché, repulsive and quite frankly dull.
Gold is the latest rags-to-riches themed film to hit our cinema screens.
Based on a true story Matthew McConaughey plays Kenny Wells, a prospector who spends his last dime journeying to Indonesia with geologist Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez) in an attempt to find gold.
Unfortunately though the film doesn’t strike anything except extreme boredom.
Now don’t get me wrong, McConaughey is an excellent actor and quite possibly one of the finest of his generation.
In Gold he once again undergoes a dramatic transformation piling on weight and sporting a receding hairline as he plays the vulgar chain-smoking, constantly drinking prospector Wells.
TWC-DimensionMcConaughey certainly took on the role with full gusto and he gives yet another great performance demonstrating that the McConaissance is not over yet folks!
Wide-eyed, wholly determined and angry, Wells is a despairing man on a mission as he attempts to save the mining company that he inherited from his father.
However, not even McConaughey’s wonderful acting chops can save this truly terrible film, and you certainly can’t blame the unlikeable characters.
TWC-DimensionTremendous movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street, a film Gold is desperately trying to be, have featured vulgar characters and still win audiences over.
The fact that the characters are unpleasant doesn’t help the film though as the result is a less engaged audience who just don’t care.
However, the fundamental issue here is poor storytelling.
TWC-DimensionNot only is the story hard to follow, meaning that you have no idea what’s going on for the majority of the time, but it is also deadly dull to a whole new level.
Full of cliché montages, predictable plotlines and yawn-inducing genre tropes, there is just nothing of interest in Gold.
If director Stephen Gaghan had dug a little deeper into the true story maybe, just maybe, the film would have been engaging.
A neglected supporting cast and misjudged music choices, which includes the worst use of Joy Division and New Order ever seen on the big screen, really hammer the final nail into the coffin.
If you want to see a decent film starring McConaughey in a rags-to-riches tale, go see Sing instead.
You’re guaranteed to have a better time.
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