Gold Brick (2023)

Gold Brick (2023)

A heist that steals your time rather than your attention

3.0

Movie

France
French
Comedy, Drama
2023
JÉRÉMIE ROZAN
Agathe Rousselle, Antoine Gouy, Bruno Lochet
95 min

TLDR

The bar is in hell if following a jaded white man steal (when he has better options) is enough to make a movie.

What it's about

A factory worker schemes to traffic luxury perfumes from under his employer's nose in this darkly comic French thriller.

The take

Making a heist so unoriginal and uneventful is a feat, and Gold Brick manages to do both without missing a beat. None of the characters are particularly interesting or distinct enough to remember their names. The idea of stealing from a big corporation (usually a solid setup) has no bite because the motivations feel hollow and unrealized. Most of the "ingenious" slight of hands and master plans don't impress or stick, and later plot points' payoffs stay as lackluster as their setups. Crisp, saturated cinematography is pleasant on the eyes but not enough to stop them from glazing over.

What stands out

The disconnect between the visual mood and the premise is stark and disappointing. What wasn't invested into the script did show up in the cinematography. Along with the more playful elements (direct-to-viewer narration), the feel of the film outshines the substance. A more concerted effort to flesh characters out, create better chemistry, discuss the impacts of large corporations infiltrating small towns, and plot a simple, uncomplicated story would have made this worth the watch.

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

Cleaners (2019)

A weird and wonderful coming-of-age anthology featuring classic moments in 2000’s Philippine high schools

9.4

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Fern Brady: Autistic Bikini Queen (2024)

Fern Brady's comedy is friendly and absurd in the best way

7.0

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion (1992)

Alternatively, a hilarious, satiric guide to dealing with pesky organized crime

8.3

Problemista (2024)

Dark, weird, poignant, and funny, this debut feature by Los Espookys star Julio Torres is a modern parable of the American Dream

8.6

Comrades, Almost a Love Story (1996)

Almost Hong Kong natives become almost lovers in this heart stirring romance drama

8.2

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending

8.2

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.