GREED
***
Dir: Michael Winterbottom (15, 104 mins)
A critique of the super-rich and their ability to exploit, Greed is a showcase for Steve Coogan but remains a somewhat formless and ultimately unsatisfying satire. Coogan plays Sir Richard McCreadie, a Philip Green-esque mogul who buys up clothing firms, runs them into the ground and makes obscene profits. He leads a life of excess and his 60th birthday is about to be marked by a lavish celebration on Mykonos. However, all is not well: the party organization is in chaos, Syrian refugees have washed up on the beach causing problems with the view, and ‘celebrities’ are not coming due to bad press. A series of sketchy encounters ensue, with David Mitchell making an impact as Nick, Coogan’s would-be biographer. Underdeveloped characters pop up and disappear again – Isla Fisher especially wasted as Coogan’s ex-wife. And it’s not quite as caustic and hard-hitting as it could have been. Sporadically amusing and with something to say about workforce exploitation, Greed doesn’t quite gorge on its potential, but Coogan and his teeth shine.
Opens Feb 21
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