Day 4 - Gold


Day 4                  Gold [2016]

Writer(s)                            Patrick Massett & John Zinman
Director                              Stephen Gaghan
Cinematography              Robert Elswit
Music composition          Daniel Pemberton
Leads                                  Matthew McConaughey, Édgar Ramírez
Production                         A24, Plan B Entertainment, Pastel Productions

IMDb                                        6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes                 43%

Such a promising trailer for this one. Saw it a while back and then wondered why I hadn’t heard of the film since. After watching it, it’s fairly clear why. It follows Kenny Wells (McConaughey), a gold prospector whose family business falls apart, and he and his team are left looking for a break. It comes in the form of Michael Acosta (Ramírez) a geologist who got lucky with a huge discovery of copper. They strike big in Indonesia after Wells contracts malaria. It then follows his massive rise and equally ginormous fall in Wall Street. It had so much potential to be a great film with a great storyline and McConaughey on top of Hollywood after Dallas Buyer’s Club and Interstellar. McConaughey is the only good thing about this movie. He goes full gonzo sporting a pot-belly, balding head and snag tooth and is very watchable. Ultimately though, the film is rushed and it therefore lacks depth. They could have focused more heavily on some parts, like the Wall Street negotiations. Disappointing, but entertaining.

Acting                              3 / 4
Writing                            1 / 4
Cinematography           2 / 4
Music                            1.5 / 4

HWF rating               2 / 4