Director: Charlie McDowell
Cast: Lily Collins , Jesse Plemons , Jason Segel , Omar Leyva
Plot: A Hitchcockian thriller following a wealthy couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it's being robbed. A man breaks into a tech billionaire's empty vacation home, but things go sideways when the arrogant mogul and his wife arrive for a last-minute getaway. The plot unfolds as the couple initially tries to deal with the intruder, but events spiral out of control leading to a series of unfortunate, and ultimately deadly, outcomes. The film explores themes of greed, wealth, and the dangers of opportunism.
My Movie Review: The movie is aesthetically pleasing supposed to be deliciously dark but one leave some unwanted aftertaste but what matter is the journey while chewing it quite tasty! Windfall is a solid enough chamber piece and a showcase for its three leads' talents, but on a story level it struggles to establish the themes it brings up uncertainty and unbalance trajectory! Coolly efficient noir traps Lily Collins into this victim-aggressor dynamics aren't all they initially seem in this lean silent, mean domestic hostage story from Se7en writer Andrew Kevin Walker! It starts off with kind of a wacky, Coen Brothers energy and then turns into a much darker thriller, it's an intriguing premise and I liked the cast they balance each other plus a random gardener hired by the wealthy couple, accidentally falls through glass door, result in fatal injury! There's a crackle missing from the dialogue, the script outdone by McDowell's crisp, bright visuals- a hell of a house and sun kissed dry plantation of oranges want you slurge on the zest! The film's overall minimalist approach reminded me more than once of Steven Soderbergh's work. Bottom line: this movie is nothing earth-shattering but still worthy checking out on casual! This is what happened the wife successfully escapes the robber's grasp she walks up and down the long driveway, something changes in her face and she makes a decision as Nobody is about to leave, she smashes him on the head, kills him but instead of untying her husband and setting him free, she shoots him dead and plants the gun in Nobody's hand, what a twist!?!
Critics Consensus: Windfall is hardly a bounty of cinematic riches, but a killer cast keeps this minimalistic thriller from going creatively bankrupt. Short, sharp and mostly satisfying, this is a thriller that sticks to the stripped-back fundamentals of the genre — no more, no less. There's at least one great performance in here, and the whole venture clocks in at a blissfully brief 90 minutes. It should be commended, however for making its flawless setting as claustrophobic for us as it is for the three characters. Although Windfall efforts to not be “more of the same” is what makes it entertaining, the fact that the movie ends with a forced climax that's typical of the genre that it tried so hard to undermine is even more frustrating. Windfall embodies a classic noir suspense story, fraught with some incredible character performances from Jesse Plemons, Lily Collins, and Jason Segel. Terrible, talky three-hander...A good idea squandered, waste of a top cast. Chalk it up as a dud. From the retro font and music of the opening titles, Windfall announces itself as a throwback, Hitchcock-esque thriller, and proceeds, in its tidy runtime, to deliver. What could’ve been an unequivocal thrill transgresses into a languid chamber piece loaded with dramatic tedium and rote acting...The performances are good as Segel, Collins, and Plemons make the most of what they’re given. But the commentary is uninspired and barely explored. And the vague hints of tension aren’t enough to make this throwback thriller as good as it could have been. A modest, intriguing little crime drama that lets Jesse Plemons kind of take over for stretches and do his thing which I always approve off:)
