Windfall has been released on Netflix's streaming service. And while the official synopsis promised a "Hitchcockian thriller," we get a bright and colorful film that moves freely between genres.
A wealthy couple spontaneously arrives at their country house for the weekend. They unexpectedly discovered that a burglar is visiting at the very moment...
Sudden Luck is perhaps one of the clearest examples of the random, quirky cinema that Netflix is so fond of these days. First of all, Jason Siegel and Andrew Kevin Walker worked on the script. And while the former is best known as an actor and comedian who has been trying to break out of his usual role in recent years, the latter has made a name for himself as the screenwriter of Fincher's extreme thriller Se7en and Burton's gothic horror tale Sleepy Hollow. Second, the film, which has been described as a "Hitchcockian thriller," successfully combines several very different genres at the same time.
Sudden Luck starts out as an adventure comedy: a couple arrives for a weekend at their perfect dream home and suddenly discovers they've been robbed in real-time. An unknown man (actually a man with no name and no past), for an equally unknown reason, has broken into their empty house and is trying to get something to eat. Then, as he takes the couple - the head of a large IT company and his wife - hostage, various details of their lives begin to emerge. And the victims themselves literally convince the "intruder" to enrich themselves at their expense and demand a hefty ransom.
There's more. Although "Sudden Luck" is a classic film about the peculiarities of the modern world and one small man's attempts to survive in it, the creation of director Charlie McDowell constantly veers in completely different directions. If only because the director freely juggles his favorite genres. And if in the beginning, the film seems moderately witty and ironic, in the second half it quickly descends into drama. And all to become a violent thriller about overcoming life's difficulties and finding oneself.
Some may not like this hodgepodge of emotions. But the main beauty of Sudden Luck is that it changes dynamically and discontinuously throughout the film. And that's why it regularly surprises. Once you start guessing how the events will unfold on screen, the writers immediately veer off on a completely different path.
And maybe there's just one problem with the film. The fact is that we learn too little about the main characters, and even toward the end, we are forced to guess at their true motivations. Thus, the underlying social (if not civil) conflict doesn't hit the audience with the intended force and sharpness. Yes, many will understand the feelings of the Stranger (or Nobody), but few will empathize with him.
The crime thriller Sudden Luck wasn't quite as Hitchcockian, but it was entertaining and dynamic. And Jesse Plemons, Lily Collins, and Jason Segel proved to audiences once again that the three of them can pull off a movie, even if it's a chamber one. Another creative success for Netflix.
