There’s not inconsiderable irony in the rapidity with which Dumb Money was snapped up by the big money of Hollywood. Heck, the GameStop shock of 2021 hadn’t even abated when the film was conceived. Ben Mezrich‘s book, on which Dumb Money is based, hadn’t even found a publisher. Back then, the film was to be called The Antisocial Network, in tribute to another adaptation of a Mezrich text. You may have seen it. Mezrich finally published a book for the film to adapt in September 2021, three months after Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo were hired to write its screenplay. I, Tonya’s Craig Gillespie was signed to direct only last year and, just seventeen months later, here we are. Such speed is near whiplash inducing.
A dramatic shift, from glossy whodunnit to gothic horror, goes only so far in remedying the frustrating dreariness of Kenneth Branagh’s vision for big screen adventures with Hercule Poirot. A Haunting in Venice is a more interesting film than Branagh’s previous two, certainly, but still feels leaden. It’s another severe and somber affair, with little of the campy thrill at the heart of Agatha Christie’s best mysteries. A less starry ensemble ought allow for stronger character performances but does not. Haunting’s a fine looking film but never comes to life, even as the death count ramps up.
Now then, who remembers The Nun? Not the character, per se, but the film. The Corin Hardy directed Conjuring spin off that proved a box office phenomenon in 2018. The one about the satanic sister with a bad habit for homicide. No? No church bells ringing? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Indeed, so convinced are the makers of the film’s long time coming sequel that nobody remembers The Nun that a whole scene in part two is devoted to an abridged retelling. Just one of many dreadfully dull vignettes in a slog full of them. While a whole new team were assembled for this one, the woes are unchanged. Maybe it’s time to recognise that Valak, for all Bonnie Aarons’ snarling efforts, simply cannot sustain a story of her own.
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