Review: Windfall

For what Windfall is trying to be, it achieves it, even if it never really tries to do too many interesting things with the thriller genre. Director Charlie McDowell has crafted a taut-enough thriller with strong performances and solid, if at times too heavy handed, dialogue that will draw in viewers for its snappy ninety minute runtime. What lets the film down is the weak ending that might leave audiences wanting more.

Windfall follows three unnamed characters, a robber (Jason Segel) breaking into the home of a rich tech billionaire (Jesse Plemons) and his wife (Lily Collins). All seems to be going well until the couple comes home unexpectedly, leaving Segel to deal with the consequences. Windfall opens with Segel in silence wandering around the house and enjoying its extravagance. This opening alerts audiences to its Hitchcockian desires, which it partially meets. McDowell is not entirely up to the challenge, but, to be fair to him, very few are. His direction lacks flair, with few interesting ideas to build suspense in interesting ways. He mostly leaves it up to his trio of actors, who all deliver solid performances.

[Plemons] really gets under your skin and delivers his dialogue with a sarcastic bite that was exactly what this role needed

This is an actor’s film. Luckily, McDowell has assembled three actors more than capable of the task. I have been following Jesse Plemons since his excellent Breaking Bad performance, and I have enjoyed his slow rise over the last few years. His performance does not particularly take him outside of his unlikeable niche, but he plays these types of roles for a reason. He really gets under your skin and delivers his dialogue with a sarcastic bite that was exactly what this role needed. I also thought both Collins and Segel were a highlight. I have not seen too much work from these actors, Segel especially since his How I Met Your Mother days. Segel captures the menace needed for a robber, but always has the sense that he is out of his depth. For having the least character development out of the three, he does enough to endear you to him, and he makes an excellent foil to Plemons in their battle for dominance.

Collins is the best part of the film. Playing Plemons’s wife, she has the hardest tone to strike between supporting her husband and also trying to appease Segel as Plemons antagonises him. She has the most character development, and it is done well. Her backstory is nothing revolutionary, but nothing about Windfall is by design. What elevates it is Collins’ tender performance, who is the heart of Windfall.

For its Hitchcockian inspirations, it could have been stronger and more subtle

These performances are benefited by a solid enough screenplay. A dialogue heavy film, Windfall immediately tells you who everyone is and will be. But for its Hitchcockian inspirations, it could have been stronger and more subtle. There were a few instances where the dialogue felt far too heavy handed, with Plemons in particular. I know that is the point, for him to be despicable. However, there were at times when he felt like his character belonged in another film, especially compared to Segel and Collins’s more considered dialogue.

The same can be said for a noticeable excess use of music. There are times when the silence used in the opening scene should have been used. The music almost feels like it needs to ram down the audience’s throat that something suspenseful is happening when the performances already tell us this. At its best, it is very effective in adding a layer of suspense, particularly in one stand-out scene later on where everything comes to a head. However, a more considered use of music would have worked better for the quiet story Windfall is telling.

The ending left an anticlimactic taste in my mouth

This all builds to an ending that left me wanting more. Windfall does not have any particularly interesting plot points leading up to its climax, so I was hoping it would really deliver in the final few minutes. Sadly, it left me wanting more because the build-up had been quite interesting, and I had been invested thus far. The ending does nothing wrong, and it works for what has been shown to us, but it was McDowell’s opportunity to elevate Windfall so it met its Hitchcockian style. The ending left an anticlimactic taste in my mouth that impacted my overall opinion of the film.

Verdict:

Windfall is a solid film that does enough to be an engaging claustrophobic thriller. It has a trio of strong performances who make the most out of the dialogue and mostly cover for some of its weak spots that over-egg the dynamics clearly visible through the actors. But, with direction not especially worthy of mention in a film that seems rich for interesting ideas, a slightly annoying score, and a weak ending, it keeps Windfall from reaching anything new or interesting for the genre.