A Small Fortune

Relatively formulaic crime caper. The best thing the movie has going for it is the setting; PEI certainly lends itself to some beautiful cinematography. The story has some interesting elements but overall it doesn't rise above a made-for-TV cheap production feel.

The dialogue is a bit ham-fisted at times and you've got some overly stereotypical characters: the disgruntled old cop, the bad guy with tattoos, etc.

"Deus ex machina" I think is the term for the introduction of a major new character toward the end of the movie. Well, it happens here and is a tad annoying. There are various "convenient coincidences" that happen such as a character finding an important bag at a rock that he just happened to randomly crouch down near. Some suspension of disbelief is OK but a few too many of them here.

The "wrap things up nicely" monologue at the end was a bit too pat while leaving various things unexplained.

This film is awful on so many levels, but most of all it just doesn't make sense. Like so many modern bad films it relies on advancing the plot by having characters do the stupidest, most brainless things possible. The lead actor might as well be playing someone mentally challenged. Actions take place in this film that are completely unrealistic. At times it seems as if the film makers want to take it in the direction of a dark comedy, but it is never funny. It's starts off kind of slow and boring and then dives right into absurdity. This was so bad , it was painful to watch, especially since they seemed to be going for something heart-warming in the end, but these characters were so bland and so fake , the kind that only exist in bad movies, that you won't care. I didn't care, I just wanted it to end already.

Acting is a bit so-so (especially Andrea Bang who is utterly terrible and tends to ruin every scene where she opens her mouth and 'acts').

The plot is pretty predictable.

Cinematography was ok.

I'd say maybe watch it while you fold your laundry as there is nothing here to keep your attention.

3/10.

Saw this at a festival featuring Atlantic Canadian films, and in that context, ie rooting for the home team, I found this film to be quite a beautiful poem to specific place - rural PEI. The cinematography is terrific - I felt the pull of the sea and the way of life the main character loves. The film maker lays out a number of great questions - what would you do if you were poor and found bag of money? What's the difference between enforcing the law and maintaining the peace? But the film maker doesn't explore these questions in any depth. Instead it turns into a conventional and cliched crime caper. I agree with the other reviewers that the main character makes way too many dumb decisions for a guy who doesn't seem that dumb, and there are too many contrivances for the sake of moving the pilot along. A missed opportunity - in the hands of a stronger writer this could have been a rich exploration of some compelling questions.

I wanted to like this movie more than I did, but there's just so much dumb by so many people in this movie that you just can't reward it too highly. Honestly, absolute stupidity abounds.

A man who is struggling financially with an expectant wife trolls the beach off rural Canada for seaweed to sell. One night he notices money embedded in one of the piles. He then finds an entire bag of money and decides to keep it. The next day a boat washes up with bloody bills in it. For some reason, he decides to set the boat on fire which brings the attention of the police, who notice money sticking out of the seaweed pile right next to it. Everyone knows who harvests seaweed, so an obvious connection is made. In the meantime, a vicious crook is looking for the money and his friend who had been in the boat. Then the seaweed guy is riding along the beach and finds the body of the friend and his response is to take the body away and bury it! WHY?? At this point pretty much everyone in the movie makes stupid decisions which get people killed and make NO sense and neither does the ending.

Now, had I not been so annoyed by the complete dumpster fire of foolishness that is the script, I'd have given this a much better rating. Because everything else is pretty well done. Great cinematography, most of the acting was well done, pleasing score, good direction. Give it an actual decent script and this would have been a 6 or 7, but I'm afraid the best I can do is a 5. I'd like to see what the director can do with better material.