Ca$h

The first thing you notice about Cash is that there is more Bean. More Bean on screen than any other time in my memory. And that, my friends, is a very good thing. Stephen Milburn Anderson chose wisely with his star for his quirky psychological thriller Cash opening next Friday April 9th. Sean Bean plays Pyke Kubic, a quiet, urbane, mannerly man who knows what he wants and knows how to get it. He's been wronged, or rather, his brother has been wronged, and he sets out to find who took the money, to get back what he sees as rightfully his.

Taking a cue from today's headlines, Sam and Leslie Phelan are in debt and underemployed failing to pay their mortgage for the last several months. On his way home, Sam (Chris Hemsworth of Star Trek and the upcoming Thor) drives under an overpass where a briefcase falls onto the hood of his car. Pulling over, his discovers it's full of cash. A lot of cash. With no witnesses, he takes it home to his wife (Victoria Profeta) and they feel they have discovered the answer to their prayers and go on a spending spree. Meanwhile, Pyke arrives from London to visit his brother Reece in jail, who tells his brother that he threw the stolen money away to destroy the evidence of the heist. Before being stopped by police, he saw the case land on the hood of an old station wagon driven by a white guy. Pyke, a clever, calculating man, doesn't take long in finding Sam and Leslie and sets out to take back what's his.

Sean gets to play the juicy role of twins in Cash. I don't understand why no other director has ever thought of before, given Bean's considerable range. In fact, the scenes you see of him opposite himself are some of the most interesting in the film. The slight nuances that Bean is so damn good at. They're there and it's fun to spot them as you watch one slightly more Americanized twin speak with the more established Brit version. Once Bean is in control, the scene is set into motion and the audience sees Sean do what he does best. We've all known that Bean plays a great villain, bristling with rage in films like Patriot Games, or smiling in smug superiority in Goldeneye, or cleverly conspiring in National Treasure; and just as easily he can put a turn in as the tragic but flawed hero Boromir in Lord of the Rings. With Cash, it's his attention to detail, his impeccable manner of dress, his flawless manners and his charming demeanor that are... unsettling. He's a nice guy, this Pyke Kubic. That is, unless you don't do as he asks. And why wouldn't you do as he asks? If you're Sam and Leslie Phelan, you're the ones who are in the wrong here. And so begins the task of giving back Pyke the money they stole from him. Every single cent, down to the last penny. At one point Sam and Leslie say, "Can't you give us a break on the rest? We don't have it." And Pyke answers, "Are you asking me to assume your debt? No, I won't." Hard to argue, that.

Stephen Milburn Anderson puts Stanley Milgram's experiment into action; Pyke makes them steal, they're too afraid to refuse, the more Sam and Leslie start to steal, the easier it starts to become which leads to something darker. "No consequences," he warns, "until after a decision has been made." It becomes clear in Cash that no one acts without having made a clear decision to do so first. This is where Cash makes you think. We are all where every decision has brought us to in life. Is it really possible to keep blaming everyone else for all your mistakes?

There is also something completely unexpected in Cash, a subtle use of comedy at which Sean excels. Deadpan humor laid with an undertone of seriousness that gives you a feeling that he has been waiting to play a part like this with judicious freedom for a long time. Go see Cash, have a great time with Bean on screen for almost 90 minutes and ponder all the possibilities.

I have to say this is not a bad movie at all, but I think it could be better. The movie starts with a good premise...a man who is driving down the highway suddenly finds a suitcase with more than half a millon dollars inside...what would you do? expend it? return it to the police? give it to the poor?. Unfortunately for him and his wife, he decided to expend it, only to find later on that the owner of the money has found him and wants the money back. Some of the things this man (Sean Bean) forced them to do are a little far fetched and have no sense at all. The script is far from being a master piece and the dialogues are flat, although the acting is really good, especially Sean Bean's performance. I think the director tried to mix comedy, thriller and action but failed to deliver any of them. I found the first hour of the movie very entertaining, but at the end, it got so repetitive that left me with a bittersweet taste. In conclusion, if you're looking for an entertaining movie, to watch on a Sunday afternoon, this could be it, but don't expect to see the best movie of your lives.

This is a movie that you watch, get some fun out of it and forget when it's over. And this is meant as a compliment.

We might argue what the purpose of cinema is, but Ca$h has an entertaining story with premises that are mostly believable. The cast delivers an overall decent performance. However, with less known actors it would have been just one of many B-movies.

Sean Bean is excellent and there is no need to elaborate on that. Chris Hemsworth reveals his limitations as an actor. When you see him in Ca$h you understand he's been a logical choice for the role of Thor which came out roughly a year later. Victoria Profeta was my treat in the movie. With her looks and skills i wonder where she'd been before and makes me ponder what it takes to make it in Hollywood.

Although the execution of this film is only so-so - it straddles the line between crime thriller and quirky comedy and is not quite successful in either genre - I'd recommend watching it for Sean Bean alone. For this is a film that Bean completely dominates, appearing in almost every scene, with tons of dialogue and acting opportunity, and acting everyone else off the screen in the process.

It almost feels like the film has been written as a tribute to Bean and I'm not complaining. He's a hoot as a criminal dedicated to tracking down every cent of his stolen cash, bringing plenty of his trademark deadpan humour to the part. Bean exerts an air of authority, of quiet menace, like few other actors and his presence here is second to none. His character is a guy who rarely has to resort to violence, instead controlling people through his personality alone. He's fantastic, the best I've seen him in years.

The rest of the film is okay, but the director can't hide the fact that most of the budget was spent on getting Bean and the rest of it feels rather cheap and lacklustre. It's amusing to see Chris Hemsworth, pre-THOR fame, appearing here and giving a rather weak performance in contrast to Bean. And the ending is one of the lamest cop-outs I've seen in a good while. Thank God Bean is here to distract us from these shortcomings.

Cash is not a bad movie itself, but the plot seems somewhat factitious - as the activities take place in the present U.S. where you can hardly find shops without security cameras, or easy opportunities to drive around without number plates... And the choices made by the couple seem odd as they did not obtain the money through crime or gambling. Constant calculations and amounts become soon a pain in the neck :)

Sean Bean is great as always, the other actors are nothing special... The movie is a good and adequately lengthy entertainment when there is nothing to do or the weather allows no outdoor activities. But it is definitely neither Michael Mann nor Guy Ritchie.