Greed

On the Greek island of Mykonos, British billionaire and fashion retail extraordinaire Sir Richard McCreadie (Coogan, in a role loosely inspired by Sir Philip Green) prepares to celebrate his 60th birthday. While preparations for a wild extravaganza commence, McCreadie is surveyed by Nick (David Mitchell), who has been tasked with writing his biography; a project that will hopefully salvage McCreadie's soiled reputation. Winterbottom's odd comedy is a satirical effort that examines the inequality present throughout the fashion industry. While it is evident that Greed is a film with a clear message to convey, it is somewhat frustrating to see it handled in such a clumsy manner. Greed tackles a myriad of themes, including wealth inequality, the refuge crisis and the superficial nature of reality television. Scattered throughout Winterbottom's screenplay are a wide range of characters, but very few of them actually feel fully realized. Coogan's McCreadie (an all-round unlikable man) doesn't even feel like a leading character in his own film, though Coogan makes do with the material he's given. David Mitchell is a welcome presence, for sure, and his portrayal of Nick, a mild-mannered, good man observing an otherwise seedy world within which he doesn't belong, results in one of the only likable characters in the film. Much of the comedy falls flat (save for a few chuckle-worthy one liners here and there), and the climactic scene takes a bizarrely brutal turn that feels tonally out of place with the rest of the picture. Greed certainly has good intentions, but the screenplay could have done with a few extra revisions to ensure a more cohesive structure. Mitchell is the standout here, but everything else is largely forgettable.

source: Greed

Some great performances, always great for me to watch Steve Coogan. he plays this so well. Isla Fischer is also worth a mention. This is entertaining, funny but poignat in places. Thought provoking with a message throughout. Capitalism and the wealth divide. Well worth a watch.

So after seeing the negative reviews for, and then watching 'The Corrupted' and 'Love Wedding Repeat', I realised that the negatives are from Americans and not from Brits, Our humour is different (For one they spell it wrong!) So it's not surprising they didn't like this British movie, mainly because they don't get our jokes (Our any jokes actually!) Watch it , enjoy it!!! If you know Steve Coogan and David Mitchell, you'll like this movie! If you can't? Then you're a word that sounds similar 🤣

This has to be Winter bottoms worst. Fans of his cannon are likely to be disappointed with Greed and it's very clumsy bash you over the head "message". It's a thinly veiled attacked on a well-known fashion chain owner in the UK as is a kind of a wish phantasy of what the director would probably like to do to him. The film is well shot but it's basically just 90 mins of the main character being unlikeable, with a few funny lines from Coogan. It was only the fact that Coogan was in this and I expected a certain level of humour from him that kept me watching. The trouble was this isn't the Coogan from The Trip or Partridge it's political Coogan who made himself look stupid during Brexit. This is obvious a political film but it's the politics of the out of touch rich elite. It's the kind of people who are very well off themselves but think that a shop chain owner is the devil. These are the same people who happily dismiss those who voted for Brexit as stupid (there's actually a Brexit joke in the movie) as being stupid. However the poor from another country are seen as exploited saints. And thats where this movie falls flat on its face. It's hypocritical. The ending is basically wish fulfillment for the loser left who voted Corbyn and Remain. This will only play well to the well off who despise the working class in the UK as much as they have those with more money than them. Anticapitalism at it's worst and it wasn't even funny. Apparently murder is ok as well as long as someone has more cash and is an unpleasant character.

Greed: I've liked Michael Winterbottom's films ever since Butterfly Kiss back in 1995, and Greed delivers the goods as well. A serious comedy about the life of billionaire cheapo fashion mogul Sir Richard McCready (Steve Coogan). McCready's 60th birthday is approaching and he plans to have an epic party with a Roman Empire theme on Mykonos. It will even have an arena (made of plasterboard) where a gladiator will face a (cranky) lion. Things start to fall apart as (paid) celebrity guests cancel their attendance, the arena construction is behind schedule. Doubles for the celebritys are booked but are far from convincing, even a George Michael lookalike is sent. Meanwhile McCready's daughter Lily (Sophie Cookdon) arrives, she is part of a reality tv show and includes Syrian Refugees camping on the beach into her show's script. In the background Sam (Tim Key) is working away as MCCready's official biographer. He interviews those who worked with McCready in the past and a narrative emerges which demolishes the rags to riches myth. McCready has always operated in a cutthroat manner, asset stripping companies and letting them go bankrupt as his fortune pikes up. This isn't just about McCready though, widespread business practices which leave suppliers owed payments and workers left without wages are exposed as companies are liquidated. All perfectly legal. How cheap "fashion" clothes depend on slave labour conditions in the developing world is also tackled. Again a problem which is endemic in the clothing industry. Shirley Henderson is wonderful as McCready's mother Margaret, a dowager Lady Macbeth. Shanna Shaik plays Naomi, McCready's new trophy wife with Asa Butterfield as her stepson Finn who is developing some Oedipal feelings towards her. A great satire which hurtles along to a savage ending. Written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. 9/10.

Starts off interesting and like a biopic. Then switches to another theme of wealth, greed and ego in the upper class. Then switches to justified murder. Finally ending as a fluff piece of how one particular gender is a taken advantage off by the other. Waste of a potentially good film. It's ok for children to rob and steal, it's ok to illegally squat on public property and it's ok to murder a rich snob and it's ok to accept how the how the wealthy take advantage of the legal systems in international societies. That whole film is based on this...but in the end credits it tells a different story of financial corruption against women in sweat shops. And how 9 out of 10 billionaires are men? That wasn't expressed in the actual film footage.

What kind of film is this supposed to be? A comedy? A polemic? A social satire? An expose? It seems to be trying to be all of these simultaneously - and the result is something of a mess. Steve Coogan is good as a loathsome tycoon who doesn't care who he tramples underfoot as he amasses his fortune. David Mitchell is also good as his bumbling would-be biographer; and the preparations for Coogan's hedonistic birthday bash contain some fine comedy. But the film also wants to condemn the way the fashion industry is built on the exploitation of workers in Sri Lanka and elsewhere (and everyone who has ever bought clothes in their local High St is complicit in this exploitation). This is a theme worthy of treatment, but to attempt to splice it with the comedic strand of the film jars dreadfully. The plight of refugees crossing the Mediterranean is also touched upon. Again, this is something we should all be concerned about, but it can hardly be blamed on retail fashion moguls - so why try to shoehorn it into this film? And as if there wasn't too much in the film already, we also get the filming of some sort of reality TV programme, the relationship of which to the main plot is far from clear. They say that less is more. In the case of this film, more is less.

Biggest pile of rubbish I've seen sadly. Not funny. Not entertaining Not worth the time or money

This is about as far left as you can get... when they campion murder to defeat greed is when you know know you're dealing with champagne socialists.