Greed

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, Greed follows fashion billionaire Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan) as he attempts to distract the public from a splashy scandal by throwing himself an epic 60th birthday bash. Filmmaker Winterbottom, working from his own screenplay, delivers an erratic yet ultimately rewarding comedy that admittedly grows more and more involving as it unfolds, and it’s clear, certainly, that Coogan’s engaging, entertaining performance goes a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s periodic lulls and questionable elements – with, for example, Winterbottom occasionally bogging the proceedings down in the minutia of the central characters’ less-than-savory financial dealings. There’s little doubt, as well, that Greed benefits from character-building flashbacks and an assortment of appealing supporting figures, as Winterbottom, in terms of the latter, does a superb job of eliciting stirring work from such periphery players as Isla Fisher, Shirley Henderson, and Asa Butterfield. (David Mitchell’s hilarious turn as Richard’s well-meaning biographer stands as an obvious highlight, to be sure.) And although Winterbottom’s approach is sometimes more didactic than one might’ve preferred, Greed builds towards an exceedingly satisfying final stretch that ensures it concludes on a positive, memorable note – which does, in the end, cement the picture’s place as an almost atypically compelling effort from an often egregiously hit-and-miss filmmaker.

*** out of ****