It's a tough life being a committed fan of British thespian Sean Bean, much of which can be brutal and frequently crushing. It's a cold existence, marked by long stretches of harsh, barren wilderness and punctuated by episodes of wailing despair and bleak, existential darkness from which there can often seem to be no respite. It's a lot like Cormac McCarthy's The Road, only less jolly. But you make do. A classically trained Shakespearian actor of substantial ability, Sean Bean's weathered physicality and gruff, Sheffield accent has seen him forever sidelined to the fringes, playing hardcases (Outlaw), headcases (The Hitcher), and rent-a-villains (National Treasure), occasionally managing to score a truly great role (Richard Sharpe, Boromir, John Dawson) along the way. This, sadly, is not one of those roles. Although, to his credit, Bean makes a far better fist of it than such pedestrian material typically permits.
A somewhat confused treatise on our out-of-control debt culture, director Stephen Milburn Anderson's stagy production can't seem to make up it's mind whether it wants to be a tense psycho-thriller or a darkly comic satire. It begins in a manner reminiscent of something the Coen Bros might have scribbled down (and then thrown away), with a police chase during which Reese Kubic (Bean) tosses a suitcase full of half a million in cash over an expressway overpass and onto the hood of a car before promptly getting arrested. The driver of said car, Sam Phelan (Hemsworth), can't believe his luck and he and his ditzy wife, Leslie (Profeta), start hatching plans for what to spend it on. Enter, Pyke Kubic (also Bean), Reese's twin brother, who tracks the couple down, showing up at their door and informing them that he's there to collect.
Typically in a thriller this game of cat-and-mouse would run the length of the film, with the dangerous predator gradually closing in on the blissfully unaware and naive young couple leading to a tense final reel showdown. But Anderson has other ideas, with Pyke finding his intended targets almost immediately. From then on convention and expectation are smartly circumvented (for a while at least) as the picture morphs into a slightly hilarious treatise on our rampant credit crisis. Sam and Leslie, you see, are about seventy grand short by the time Pyke arrives.
Where most villains would cut their losses and leave with what's left, Pyke insists on recouping the full amount, and in wonderfully passive-aggressive fashion moves in with the couple so as to better supervise the recovery, ritualistically keeping a running total on every last cent still outstanding like a demented Rain Man. Borderline disgusted at the couples' panicked offer of their new Range Rover and living room furniture set in payment, Pyke snorts: "I don't want goods. I'm not a merchant!" With the young couple flabbergasted that they actually have to pay back what they've spent, Anderson scores a good few haymakers against the irresponsibility of out debt-driven consumer culture. In the midst of a recession and an election year characterized by populist rhetoric, it's interesting to see someone take the side of the banker as a matter of principle. After all, no one forces you to spend money you can't repay. "Can't you just leave us alone?" Leslie begs Pyke. "You mean: 'Will I assume your debt?' No!" Pike retorts.
For once actually permitted to act with his natural accent, Bean is on fine form here; all subtle menace and implied threat. It's just a shame that his co-stars can't seem to match him in intensity. Seemingly unable to offer anything to the dynamic beyond peeved stares and open-mouthed exasperation, Profeta, and in particular Hemsworth, are complete non-entities, which really doesn't bode too well for the upcoming Thor movie. Nor can Anderson figure out how to get enough mileage out of his devious, narrative left turn, with the film reverting back to generic thriller conventions for a preposterous third act culminating in a whimper of a climax. Would probably make a good play though.
DVD Bonus Features
A somewhat engaging commentary track in which the director further explains the psychological underpinnings of his thesis, which, as we've highlighted, is a better idea on paper than it is a movie. Also included are a brief making-of featurette and some deleted scenes.
"Ca$h" is on sale August 17, 2010 and is rated R. Crime-Thriller. Written by Stephen Milburn Anderson. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Sean Bean, Victoria Profeta.
