Greedy People

It’s not a bad premise by any means, but a noir romp, however bizarre and farcical, surely has to take place in a recognisably real world where there are plausibly real constraints on people’s behaviour.

Does it make any sense? No. But I was cracking up from scene to scene.

It doesn’t always work, but it more often than not hits its target, thanks to the performances and an unexpected ending.

What we're left with is a movie that has good moments for all the actors, but which, through a series of tonal imprecisions, ends up seeming sour and pointless.

Gordon-Levitt’s electrifying buffoonery is an easy highlight of the ensemble crime comedy. He steals the show as crass and dim-witted cop Terry, whose corruption can’t overcome his utter lack of ambition.

Unfortunately, the proceedings become increasingly tiresome the more the characters are killed off, with the result that despite an impressive cast, the film comes to feel like a Coen Brothers rip-off.

With the majority of its main characters unlikeable, there's nobody to root for - which undoes much of the tension.

It's a shame that the final result is not greater than the sum of its parts. [Full review in Spanish]

For all those who are tiring of banal cash-grabbing vanity projects that only make noise at the ticket windows, this crime comedy comes as a breather despite some flaws in the story.

Watch it if you want a reminder of just how good Joseph Gordon-Levitt is or to see how far one can take a crazy idea and run with it.