Written by: Michael Vukadinovich
Starring: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tim Blake Nelson, Traci Lords
Rating: [3/5]
Even the most pessimistic among us can agree that everyone has a strain of goodness within them. Whether they choose to live through it remains a whole other question. Personally, I believe everyone contains some level of good, but something happens when a plot of cash appears in front of people that makes them revert to their basest of instincts. Greedy People seeks to have some fun with this very real concept in the way it sets off a completely ridiculous set of events.
Moving into a small island town, Providence, Officer Will Shelley (Himesh Patel) starts his new shift as his pregnant wife at home, Paige (Lily James) prepares the home for their child. Partnered with seasoned cop, Officer Terry Brogan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Shelley responds to a distress call at a home alone. At this call he completely misreads the situation and it tragically results in a dead woman and a stash of cash there for the taking, which complicates things.
An unfortunate circumstance snowballing into something much worse aptly describes the tale Greedy People takes us on. The title also says it all where we have two cops who find themselves in circumstances where they must abandon the oaths they have taken all for the prospects of pocketing the cash they found in a crime scene they caused. It presents one of those “what if” situations for the audience where it exhibits a disconcerting situation, where all parties carry some fault but at the end of the day someone sits on the wrong side of the stick.
As we plunge into Providence with Shelley’s first days on the job, we learn plenty about what makes it all tick. This town has all of the hallmarks of the classic small towns we know and love with the police officers who know everyone in town, most people just getting by, and just a handful who have much more than everyone else financially. This town certainly has its fair share of characters and Brogan knows all of them quite well. Therefore, having this sum of cash freely available for those who know about it being accessible ensures that darker thoughts will soon emerge and mistrust will begin to brew. Shelley and Brogan, of course, cannot just take the cash just yet, seeing as they have to ensure the investigation as to what led them to have the cash gets settled and nothing sticks to them. Them having not known each other for long adds additional complications to how long this tenuous alliance will last.
With more people catching wind of this situation, not only do Brogan and Shelley get more volatile, but so does everyone else who gets a whiff of this circumstance. A lit match could light this sucker up and all of the betrayals and character decisions changes the trajectory of who involved could possibly get a happy ending. The title of the feature, after all, refers to everyone involved acting greedy but as the narrative displays, this occurs not just in getting one’s hands on the money, but also protecting themselves and their families.
With a fairly decent cast brought together for this feature, the one that stood out was Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Officer Terry Brogan. Often playing a protagonist, Gordon-Levitt dips his toe into ambiguity with his portrayal of Brogan where he oscillates between an affable chap to someone who knows how to lay down a threat and mean it. His character fascinates, especially as we see this story through the eyes of Shelley and whether he can fully trust Brogan. The direction this film takes truly puts this trust all to the test and Brogan’s place in it, especially the dark moments allows this to work much better than the average story swimming in these types of waters.
A serviceable and fun time, Greedy People puts the root of all evil right at the center of its narrative and as expected, things get a bit messy. Mixing in sloppy police work, deception at all corners, and various individuals vying for a huge stack of cash, this feature delivers on everything it sought to accomplish with its fun cast of characters and taking a dark plunge to the desperate actions of its characters.
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