'Windfall' asks countless questions with style
Netflix
There is no shortage of movies that are ambiguous. But few actually inspire conversation or create characters and scenarios that are morally debatable. "Windfall," a welcome exception, is not just tense and engaging throughout but becomes a kind of inkblot test. Whether or not this is a good movie should be the new, "What color is this dress?"
We open on a man identified in the credits as Nobody (Jason Segel), peacefully enjoying a secluded vacation home somewhere on the West Coast. If he lives there, he's quite sedentary. If he's robbing the place -- yes, that's what he's doing -- he's in less of a rush than the usual burglar. This turns out to be a mistake, as before Nobody can leave, somebody arrives in the form of a couple identified as the CEO (Jesse Plemons) and the Wife (Lily Collins, who happens to be married to director Charlie McDowell of the great "The One I Love" and disappointing "The Discovery"). What was just breaking and entering and some theft turns into kidnapping and much more in a story that flirts with predictability but takes a different route there, mixing unexpected humor into its considerations of wealth-based power dynamics between both strangers and lovers.
The script by Justin Lader ("The One I Love") and Andrew Kevin Walker ("Seven") unfortunately forces the characters to spend a lot of time sitting around once it's determined the CEO will give Nobody a large chunk of money but not until his assistant can bring it tomorrow night. It does allow for conversations that are spiked with uncertainty and resentment, with Plemons biting hard into a role that turns Mark Zuckberg's moody arrogance into a much more direct, bro-y condescension. McDowell also makes effective use of Segel (star of "The Discovery"), embracing his likable shlubbiness, and Collins, balancing opportunism with conflicted feelings about what she has gained and lost by being with someone who at best is exhausting and controlling. There is much to consider here about lines that are crossed, each person's justification for doing so, the resulting changes in personality, and who is the best and worst character here. The subtly devastating point is that people may think their lives are determined by big events, but incredibly small actions can be just as impactful too.
The narrative is a bit too withholding to stamp itself a success, and the descent into violence is problematic in about eight different ways. But gather a group for this one (safely) and prepare to argue -- er, discuss.
B
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