200 Pounds

I watched this on a flight, and the story kept me engaged throughout. Maybe because it tells a story from outside my cultural circle, but it was very enjoyable. I am floored by the poor reviews. It was well acted. The story lines, while brief, made sense because of the story telling of the 200 pound note. I felt with the characters' plight. I loved the occasional internal dialogs. Understanding enough about their story to empathize because of how their story is told. I did not feel that the characters were underdeveloped at all. Rather, enough of their story was shared to make me want to understand their fate. All in all, a very enjoyable movie.

This film had all the ingredients for success-an ambitious premise, a star-studded cast, and solid production values. Unfortunately, it falls victim to its own limitations, trying to cram too many characters and storylines into a runtime that simply can't do them justice. As a result, the narrative feels rushed, events unfold in a cramped and disjointed manner, and the emotional weight of the story gets lost in the shuffle.

Instead of delivering a gripping drama, the film ends up feeling more like a missed opportunity. With so many characters vying for screen time, there's little room for meaningful development, making it hard to connect with any of them. For a movie centered on suffering and misery, that lack of emotional engagement is a fatal flaw. By the time the formula started repeating itself, it was difficult to stay invested.

The cast, despite their undeniable talent, is left stranded with weak dialogue and inconsistent character arcs. The excitement of seeing certain actors return to the screen is quickly dampened by a lack of direction and attention to detail. Some of the most dramatic scenes unintentionally drift into unintentional comedy, making them feel hollow rather than moving.

In the end, this project might have fared much better as a TV series, with each character getting a dedicated episode to flesh out their backstory and motivations. If Netflix, Shahid, or OSN ever decide to take on this concept in a proper episodic format, there could be real potential.

As it stands, however, the film struggles to justify its runtime. If you were eagerly anticipating it, you might find yourself more entertained by checking your watch than watching the movie.

Not recommended!

I had higher expectations for this movie but I got bored after watching the first 15 minutes, tried to give another shot but could not continue watching, I recognized I am awaiting my time watching it!!

What a great idea of a movie to show the differences and similarities between different classes.. How the value of one paper can be very different.

It made us laugh, cry and think.

This should have been made as a TV series (Period). The idea is ambitious, the characters are fairly interesting, and the production is decent. The main problem is that the movie tries to tell the story of too many characters in a very short period of time (due to the movie runtime limitations). The story feels rushed and the events seem crammed. You don't get enough time to connect with any of the characters which is a huge problem for a movie that is supposedly full of suffering and misery. I started to lose interest towards the end as the formula got too tiring.

I hope that the likes of Netflix/Shahid/OSN pick up the idea and make it into a proper TV series - at least a single 45-min episode per character so we can have enough time to connect.