All the Money in the World is a true-crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa and stars Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, and Romain Duris. Based on John Pearson’s 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty, the story follows Jean Paul Getty’s refusal to cooperate with the extortion demands of a group of kidnappers from the Italian Mafia group, ‘Ndrangheta, who abducted his grandson Paul Getty in the early 1970s. The film has made headlines as Kevin Spacey originally portrayed Jean Paul Getty, even appearing in the film’s initial marketing campaign. However, after multiple sexual assault allegations were levelled against Spacey, the role was recast with Christopher Plummer, who was Scott’s original choice for the role. Spacey’s scenes were reshot with Plummer just a month prior to the film’s release. Ridley Scott does a great job directing this film. He manages to capture the different levels of distress of all characters involved in this situation. He gives each character the right amount of screentime that serves the story he was trying to tell. Michelle Williams is great as Gail Harris. She manages to exhibit all of the emotions a mother whose son was kidnapped would feel. Wanting to everything to be over and wishing the situation wasn’t true. Even through all of this she displays a strength to her character. She is willing to accept help but also willing to get it done on her own. Mark Wahlberg is fine as Fletcher Chase, Getty’s personal advisor, head of security and former CIA operative. His character starts out as very intriguing, but never lives up his own hype. For someone who is head of security and a former CIA operative he never shows of any of his skills. He does make a joke about not all CIA operatives being combative, but he doesn’t show great skill at negotiation either. Christopher Plummer is okay as Jean Paul Getty. The character is clearly stingy and frugal, but loves his family… to a degree. We are only given a few snippets of how he gained his great fortune. Learning more about his backstory would have helped with his character development. The role fits him almost perfectly, but that is a gift and a curse. Throughout the film, it doesn’t seem like he is trying and is more so being a version himself. There are some instances where it’s obvious that Plummer has been digitally inserted to replace Spacey. The film does feel a little long and drags in the middle. A few scenes could be cut out to make a tighter, better paced film. There are also some confusing story elements involving Jean Paul Getty’s extended family that could have used more explanation. Especially during a key moment in the film’s climax. I give All the Money in the World a Normal 6.7/10. That cast pulls of a solid performance, but the film doesn’t amount to much more than that.