A rookie cop and his partner upend their small island town when they accidentally discover one million dollars at a crime scene. A film by Potsy Ponciroli, starring Himesh Patel, Lily James, Uzo Aduba, Kermit Rolison, Traci Lords, Tim Blake Nelson, Simon Rex, Nina Arianda, Jim Gaffigan, José María Yázpik, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
GREEDY PEOPLE
Potsy Ponciroli
(2024)
Fresh out of the police academy in Columbia, rookie police Officer Will Shelley (Himesh Patel) got a job in Providence, a small island town. He and his pregnant wife Paige (Lily James) moved here three days ago, preparing to settle in. Will notices a busted blood vessel in his eye and starts to worry. Paige takes a look and tells him it’s just a burst vessel, nothing major.
At the police station, Chief Police Captain Murphy (Uzo Aduba) welcomes Will and informs him that he will ride with Officer Terry Brogan for at least a week to help him become familiar with how they handle things around here before he can get his own car. Murphy congratulates Will when he tells her that he and his wife are expecting a baby boy. Murphy introduces Will to Terry, who has been a police officer in this town for 16 years.
While patrolling together, Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gives Will three pieces of advice: don’t kill anybody unless he really has to, respect Captain Murphy, and get a hobby he can do on the job because police work in this town can be boring since not much happens in this peaceful community — except for the occasional bar fight or boat theft. Terry takes Will to Tillys café, run by Tilly (Tamara Hopkins), to get free coffee. He then introduces Will to Al (Fracaswell Hyman), the owner of Al’s Diner, who notices Will’s last name, Shelby, and asks if he is William Shelby, the one who stole cash from the bank in Charlotte. Terry is surprised when Will reveals that William is his father.
Meanwhile, Paige visits a local hardware store to buy some paint and notices the owner, Roger (Kermit Rolison), startle when he spots a man walking by. although she doesn’t see the man’s face, Paige becomes curious and asks Roger who the man is. Roger gives her a cryptic answer, saying that if Paige has any kind of problem, that man can make it disappear, implying he’s some kind of fixer or hitman.
While waiting in the car as Terry stops by a house to hook up with Yu Yan (Yingling Zhu), this Chinese housewife he’s been seeing on the side. All of a sudden, Will hears a call come in over the radio about an 11-15 in progress at the Chetlo house. He tries to get ahold of Terry, but can’t, so Will decides to head over to the Chetlo house by himself. istaken 11-15 code for burglary, Will grows cautious when he arrives at the house and sees the front door is slightly open. He accidentally fires his weapon which really freaks out Virginia (Traci Lords).
She goes ballistic, starts smacking Will with her hands, then jumps on his back, trying to choke him out. Will blacks out and falls backwards, smashing into a coffee table, with Virginia still clinging to him. When Will regains his consciousness, he finds Virginia is already dead, tragically killed by a broken piece of wood from the coffee table.
Moments later, Terry arrives at the Chetlo house and becomes extremely upset when Will confesses that he accidentally killed Virginia, the wife of Wallace Chetlo (Tim Blake Nelson), the richest man in town. At first, Terry is determined to report the incident, but he quickly realizes that if he does, the police will likely find out that he was having sex with a civilian, which would reflect poorly on him and could potentially get him fired as well.
In a moment of frustration, Terry kicks a basket and discovers a stash of cash hidden inside. This gives him an idea: they can make it look like Virginia was murdered by someone else. Will and Terry then start to mess up the place to stage it as a burglary, clean up their tracks, and take the money for themselves.
Directed by American filmmaker Potsy Ponciroli and based on an original screenplay written by Michael Vukadinovich, GREEDY PEOPLE is a dark comedy with an interesting premise and quirky charm, featuring an almost unpredictable plot and narrative that keep us engaged as we try to anticipate where the next twist will lead.
While the story doesn’t break new ground or offer memorable shocking twists and turns, Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers an amazing performance that perfectly captures his role as a rogue police officer with a twisted, almost psychotic mind. His character has great potential to lead the narrative toward a much darker conclusion, but unfortunately, the ending feels a bit rushed as the film tries to tie up all its loose ends.
The story is filled with convincing subplots that intertwine, and it really sparks my imagination about where it could go. For instance, what if Will hadn’t lied to his wife Paige? I might actually root for him since it was a tragic accident. I mean, given Will’s backstory — that he became a cop because his father stole money from the bank — why turn him into a liar trying to conceal his mistake and betray another man’s trust?
Or what if the masseur Keith (Simon Rex), intercepted Paige when she took the cash? It would also be interesting to see the Irishman get into a fight with the Colombian. There are so many fascinating characters in this film that don’t seem to reach their full capabilities.
GREEDY PEOPLE was theatrically released in the United States on 22 August 2024.
