Gold

Inspired by true events, Gold follows fledgling prospector Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) as he and his partner (Edgar Ramirez’s Michael Acosta) discover a bounty of the title element deep within the Indonesian jungle – with the movie detailing the various ups and downs that inevitably ensue once they get back home. The degree to which Gold‘s opening hour flat-out doesn’t work is actually rather remarkable, as writer/director Stephen Gaghan delivers a hopelessly by-the-numbers narrative that’s rife with uninteresting, uninvolving scenes and sequences – with the far-from-engrossing atmosphere compounded by a proliferation of underdeveloped and one-note central characters. This is especially true of McConaughey’s Kenny Wells; armed with bad teeth, a bloated belly, and thinning hair, McConaughey’s tic-heavy performance remains a distraction from start to finish and the actor is, it goes without saying, utterly unable to wholeheartedly slip into the shoes of his impetuous, determined protagonist. Gaghan’s refusal to offer up an entry point for the viewer proves disastrous, to say the least, and it becomes more and more difficult to work up any interest in or sympathy for the Scorsese-like highs and lows that inevitably dominate the proceedings. (There’s little doubt that Gaghan’s consistent reliance on the hoariest of cliches perpetuates the movie’s hands-off vibe, with the exceedingly, excessively familiar trajectory between Wells and his bubbly girlfriend standing as an obvious lowlight here.) And although the film does improve substantially in its surprising third act – ie the story finally goes in an interesting, unexpected direction – Gold has long-since confirmed its place as a tedious and often interminable drama that feels like a stale rehash of other, better movies.

** out of ****