Gold
Directed by Stephen Gaghan
- adventure
- drama
- thriller
The story
Kenny Wells, a modern-day prospector, hustler, and dreamer, is desperate for a lucky break. Left with few options, Wells teams up with an equally luckless geologist to execute a grandiose, last-ditch effort: to find gold deep in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
What it’s like
Warm, sweaty and sun-struck, with humid jungle greens bleeding into the dusty amber of 1990s Reno motel rooms and the cool blue glass of Wall Street offices. Gaghan shoots much of it in handheld, slightly restless frames that stay close to McConaughey's rumpled, sweating charm, then opens into wide aerial shots of rainforest canopy and muddy river camps. The score leans on brassy, buoyant strings and percussive jungle textures, so the music often sounds more hopeful than the situation warrants. The vibe is brash, wry and sun-faded, a tall-tale caper with a lightly comic edge and one or two moments of tension when the money gets shaky. Pacing is brisk, with a steady escalation of bluster and bad luck, and the arc follows a charismatic failure who keeps reinventing his hopes and gradually confronts how much he has bet on them. Violence is minimal and mostly implied; there is some profanity, sexual innuendo, and a few tense business confrontations, but no gore. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon or a playful night in for people who enjoy scrappy underdog schemes, con-artist energy and performances that lean into swagger.
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