User reviews

It starts off with kind of a wacky, Coen Brothers energy and then turns into a much darker thriller. It's an intriguing premise and I liked the cast, but it feels a bit undercooked.

Things happen that don't have proper buildup or explanation and some of the logic is a bit iffy. It's interesting, however it can really drag with some of the long, awkward staring into space scenes. It's definitely not the best Netflix film, but far from the worst.

Jason Segel breaks into the isolated luxury villa of tech billionaire Jesse Plemons and his wife, Lily Collins. They suddenly appear and Segel has to hold them at gunpoint and decide how he his going to get out of the mess he's got himself into.

Interesting chamber piece set entirely at the villa (very nice it is too) and therefore you can easily see it as a neat 3 act play performed on stage. Whilst it starts lightly enough with a degree of humour, the tables turn on Segel as Plemons starts to get increasingly angered at the situation, letting his true colours shine through. As the film progresses it becomes pretty clear what the direction of travel is going to be, although this doesn't alter the fact the film has a neat ending. All 3 leads do well, but Plemons keeps the electricity going with his performance as an increasingly unlikeable rich guy.

This movie could have been a good short movie of 25 minutes duration as only last 10 Minutes and initial 15 minutes are important . Rest of the time is just filler. It is not near to any Hitchcock movie other than music part of it. In case you have watched all good movies and you have nothing to watch than give it a try or otherwise skip it. But is timepass movie.

A man (Jason Segel) breaks into an unoccupied vacation home to steal money and valuables from it, only for his theft to become interrupted when the owner, a wealthy tech CEO (Jesse Plemons) and his wife (Lily Collins) arrive. With options limited, the man takes the CEO and his wife captive and extorts a large sum of money from them as tensions escalate not only between captor and captive, but also the CEO and his wife.

Windfall is the latest film from Charlie McDowell, director of The One I Love and The Discovery from a screenplay by Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven, 8MM). The film is a chamber piece featuring only three actors in an isolated setting and feels like it harkens to other isolated chamber thrillers like Wait Until Dark or Dial M for Murder. While the movie featres some solid performances from its cast, it feels a little confused in its thematic elements.

While like many home invasion thrillers of this ilk, the movie is a cat and mouse game involving the invader's objective for money or some other valuable McGuffin, the movie tries to add a thematic subtext of class disparity and economic abandonment. The characters remain nameless throughout the story and are solely defined by their importance in the plot as well as their socio economic statuses. It's hinted throughout that Jason Segel's character has been made "redundant" thanks to an algorithm developed by Jesse Plemons CEO and the movie tries to tap into that working class frustration seen with paradigm shifts in our economy that have left many behind with absolutely no plan or consideration for where they go. Jesse Plemons as the CEO is really good acting as sort of an amalgam of several wealthy archetypes with a lot of grandstanding about being "self-made" and derision about those on lower rungs as "lazy whiners" who give up at the first obstacle and the movie tries to establish this situation as a microcosm of class tensions in a way similar to how Knives Out broached the subject of political tensions (albeit with dialed back humor and a way grimmer approach). Lily Collins plays the CEO's Wife, and her positioning in the film is strange. Collins character is established as having started out as an assistant saddled with student loan debt prior to marrying the CEO and now runs the charitable foundation of the CEO's company. She's also got a strained marriage with the CEO thanks to his infidelity and it's established pretty early on she harbors some resentment towards him.

The movie had me engrossed throughout thanks to the strength of its leads with Jason Segel playing against type in a more serious role as well as Jesse Plemons as an intriguing character who you're never quite certain of, and even Lily Collins despite playing a more nebulously defined character is still engaging in the role. But the movie stumbles in the third act. Per the standards of other Andrew Kevin Walker movies like Seven or 8MM, the movie tries to have a shocking twist which it is, but it's a twist that makes you think "why exactly did that happen?" and it feels like it throws away much of the themes it was trying to discuss because it couldn't figure out how to tie them up and instead just goes for some brutal violence.

Windfall is a solid enough chamber piece and a showcase for its three leads' talents, but on a story level it struggles to establish the themes it brings up and stumbles in the third act basically throwing away all the buildup for the sake of a shock that doesn't make sense on a character, storytelling, or thematic level.

We've seen this hostage-ransom story a million times, and this is nothing new in that regard. However the tone and atmosphere that the film provides (heavy lifted by Danny Bensi's 'noir-ish' score) really does make this an enjoyable easy watch.

It's another 'pandemic' film in which restrictions meant there needed to be a barebones cast and one location, but thankfully this flavour of cinema is one of my favourites; you seldom get over saturated plot information in this 'genre' and are left to just enjoy the craft of filmmaking on a mostly technical level. Windfall is no different. Lack of plot, suspect story twists, and a short film script stretched into a feature length film doesn't take away from it being a satisfying watch.

The most intriguing thing about Windfall is that it makes us want to know more about the trio of characters played by Plemons, Collins, and Segel by the time the credits roll. In the beginning, Windfall puts across a largely harmless hostage situation featuring these nameless characters, but as it progresses, we get to know there's more to it than what meets the eye. The film is coated in bits of wry humor, primarily thanks to Plemons' arrogant billionaire feat and his shunning of the world filled with freeloaders and nobodies. It then makes complete sense when you see Segel being credited as "Nobody."

The score by Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans is a crucial piece of this puzzle, intensely punctuating almost every scene. Director Charlie McDowell treats us to a dark, twisted climax that not only makes the most sense, given all we know about the trio, but it also gives Lily Collins her shining moment! I understand that Windfall isn't as conventionally funny or thrilling as most of us would've wanted, but I'm glad the director chose the slow-burn route for this subject.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I just wanted to be entertained for an hour and a half. It did that. As mentioned, it was a bit slow at times, but it had a nice surprise ending. And as others have mentioned, it's a bit like a Hitchcock film.

You can have a film with a $250 million budget, but if what is written on the pages of the script isn't interesting then it's not going to matter a lick. Conversely, you can have a budget of next to nothing, but if you're working with a well written script then you can have the audience captivated. 'Windfall' is a perfect example of the latter. A movie that wouldn't have cost much more than the actor's salaries had me glued to the screen.

I really like the trio of actors they picked for this movie. Jesse Plemons is probably my favourite actor working today so that helped a lot. I haven't seen a lot of Lily Collins, however everything I've seen her in she was terrific. The case is the same here. Finally Jason Segel I though was an inspired choice. There's something fascinating about an actor known primarily for their comedy work taking on a serious role. It can take a little while to adjust your brain to it, but once you do it's usually a treat.

Some are going to find the film a little flat. There is a lot of talking and if you're not in the mood to be patient then it may test you. Also there aren't many characters and two of them at least are pretty deplorable people. That's not to say they're not interesting and complex characters, but spending 90 minutes with unlikable characters can be a chore.

I really liked this one though. It was exactly the type of film I'd like to see being made more often. And there's no reason they can't when you can make them on a dime. I would recommend checking this one out on Netflix. 8/10.

As "Windfall" (2022 release; 92 min.) opens, a man is walking around a southern property. It quickly becomes apparent that the man is in fact robbing the property. Just as he is about to finish up, a couple arrives at the property. It's not long before the man is found out and he takes the couple hostage... At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from director Charlie McDowell ("The Discovery"). Here he brings a barebones hostage drama that seems appropriate for the times in which it was made: smack in the middle of the pandemic. Hence only 4 actors (the three mentioned earlier, plus the gardener in a limited appeareance), and one single location. At times this very much feels like a theater play. Once the story line is set, nothing much really happens (until the very end, that is) and instead we get to know the personalities. Is the robber really a bad guy? And what of the ultra-rich CEO? Is the hostage drama causing a rift in the marriage? All three lead performances are good, in particular Jesse Plemons as the CEO. Lily Collins (a/k/a Mrs. Charlie McDowell in real life) plays the role of the wife. Jason Segel )playing the robber) is also credited as the film's co-writer. The film's overall minimalist approach reminded me more than once of Steven Soderbergh's work. Bottom line: this movie is nothing earth-shattering but still worth checking out.

"Windfall" premiered on Netflix this weekend. If you are in the mood for a barebones hostage drama with a theater-like feeling to it and starring some solid acting performances, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

It was nothing special,unique,original or not clichéd.. Including,how it ended.

Average all around from casting,acting & cinematography.

Not worth a second viewing,for any reason!

The weirdest situations can bring out the weirdest and not too bad ideas - this movie was made during lockdown. Lockdown if you are wondering was a thing when there was this virus called Corona and goverments tried to contain it - we are still experiencing it right now, but I am assuming (hoping?) it'll be more or less over some time in the future.

Having said that, the story has some interesting and fun ideas. It obviously has characters who have issues - with each other and within themselves. Having said, the acting is really rock solid. The story works overall and the really one location (still quite big) thing works quite nicely too.

Still there are other movies that work a lot better with a weird premise like this. Or a similar one. 3-Iron (or Bin-Jip not sure which title is the international to be honest) to name a Korean one. It has not the same story mind you ... but you have a weirdness in it .. that surpasses the one seen here. Way different in almost every department - but also way better.

Still this has its merits - for some it may be a twist or two - maybe even the one towards the ending. I was not too excited about that to be honest. But that is me - you may feel differently about all of it.

This isn't a thriller, it's a slow paced drama with very little storyline. I didn't much like it because nothing really happened in this movie. You have three strong leads, a beautiful setting and no story. There is barely any background story for the characters so you don't really understand their motivations or care for them. The dialogue is mediocre at best and for the majority of the time this movie is just plain boring. I watched it to the end because I read that the ending is surprising but I have to disagree. It wasn't worth the ride. It wasn't surprising it was just weird, just like the entire movie.

The characters behavior didn't make any sense from the start. Why was this guy there? Who was he? Why was he robing them? How did he know no one would be home? How did he know there aren't any security cameras? Why didn't they have any security cameras? How stupid are they? Who keeps a house like that without a security system installed? Who put that one camera on the tree? What kind of people negotiate a higher payment for their own kidnapper? What kind of an idiot talks down to a guy holding a gun? Why was the wife so unhappy? Why not just get a divorce? Who was the good guy there? Spoiler alert: I don't think there was one... In a hostage situation you got to give the audience someone to root for. Who was I supposed to root for in this movie? The robber? The a-hole rich guy? His miserable wife? I didn't care for any of them.

I usually enjoy hostage movies and survival movies for the same reason. It's thrilling to watch what people would do when they are stuck in a dangerous situation without being able to leave. The interactions between them and their motivations are usually so interesting but not here. Here it's plain boring. They sit, they eat, they drink, they talk some nonsense and they wait and wait and wait. I was waiting too. Waiting for something to happen, waiting for some answers and eventually just waiting for this movie to end.

Sorry but I can't recommend it. It's not that it's the worst movie I've ever seen but it was mostly boring. The acting was good and the general idea was good but it was missing tension, background story and at least one character that you can relate and root for.

My idea of a great hostage movie is Panic Room (2002). That was an amazing sitting on the edge of your chair thriller. If you haven't seen it, skip Windfall and watch Panic Room instead.

Really weird. The music and filmography really resembles a Hitckocian style thriller, but the acting and script are all so bad. This movie clearly tried to be something but it fails miserably and the cast do not do justice, albeit good actors overall.

This was a very hit and miss film for a lot I believe, some will love it and others will hate it. Unlucky for you lot I'm sat on the fence here. It has some really good positives, but it's equalled out by the negatives.

Positives: as the title says the actors absolutely carried this film. As I'll discuss a little later, the film lacks in depth and these actors really managed to sell their characters with the little they had, honestly brilliant performances from the 3. The cinematography throughout was immense as well, brilliant shots as it went on.

Okay what didn't I like: the biggest issue which most people will hate is the pacing of the film. It's really really slow. You could leave the room for 15 mins, come back and be at the exact same point. Ultimately I don't feel there was enough plot wise to make a film, so it was extremely slow.

The character depth was non existent. The actors did an amazing job of illustrating the character traits, but ultimately we know sod all about them so it's quite difficult to gain an emotional connection to any. Why is Jason Segal robbing this house? If he was doing it for his child or something we could picture him as a good guy even though he's doing a bad thing. But nah, plot gives us absolutely nothing. It's trying to add this element of mystery, but goes too far for me.

The ending. Again, I feel some might like and some won't. For me it's an okay ending, but very underwhelming. I understand the chain of events as it makes sense for said character, but it still was just really underwhelming and doesn't really solve much. They could have done so much more and instead they tried to do something really off the cuff as not a lot happens up until the end.

Ultimately I feel this film had good potential, but the poor pacing of the film really ruins it. You have here 3 amazing actors putting in a right shift, but they have so little to work with it the plot falls flat. I alluded earlier but they needed more, there simply wasn't enough here to get a film out of it.

Having said that I did somewhat enjoy it, mainly for the character performances and I was sat there for the whole film wondering what will happen and how will it end. So I guess the film maintains a mild tension. But I can't give above a 5/10 on this. It's maybe worth watching if you're bored, but I wouldn't recommend to my mates if I'm honest.

I really wanted love this. Musics are really good, loved the screenplay, loved the actors, loved lily.. but it is so so slow, most of the time the musics are more interesting and more thrilling than the actual scenes. Everything you want to see in this movie happens at last 20 minutes. Besides that, i get the point why people think its like hitchcock movies, shootings and music!

It's not as good as Hitchcock but what is!! But I think he would have watched it and enjoyed it. I was going to hate the ending but then it all came together for a great finale. Not sure why people aren't getting it the motives and story and pretty much everything is simple I'm not going to give it away as I hate when people do that but it's very cut and dry . The tension was there and the performances were very good it's a 7.5 thus the 8. It's no vertigo or rear window but it's a decent enough thriller and I hope they keep going in this direction. I'll tell you what it's a hell of a lot more entertaining than that power of the dog piece of garbage!!!!

I don't understand the positive reviews of this movie. To each his own theme.

The movie is terrible, boring, predictable, nothing exciting, slow, .. The only thing I liked is the music.

I don't usually say it in movie reviews, but this one is a real waste of time.

Comparing this movie with the great Hitchtcock,??? WTF ! How painful!!