New Delhi:
where trouble is stirred up.
Another homemaker, a Chinese woman married to a nondescript middle-aged man, does not die but one of the two cops finds himself in big trouble owing to her furtive presence in his life.
It is in trying to bulldoze their way out of trouble and make a killing in the bargain that Terry and Will tie themselves up in knots that not only prove difficult to untangle but also push the film into a blur too arbitrary to be genuinely effective.
Greedy People is unlikely to ever compare favourably with other films of its kind. But that certainly isn’t for want of trying. It isn’t the usual buddy-buddy movie. Terry and Will never strike up a rapport, which is what leads to them pulling in opposite directions when push comes to shove. But that does that give it a sheen of freshness? No.
Notwithstanding all the hustle bustle (mostly verbal jousts and minor skirmishes) that it whips up, Greedy People does not mount an all-out action sequence until it is less than half an hour shy of the end. From there on, it hurtles from one thing to another, never pausing for breath.
Terry is attacked by a masked man. He fights back. The situation throws open the sluice-gates. The gloves come off, so do the masks. As it begins to become apparent that nobody is what he or she appears to be, the violence unfolds in such a tearing hurry that it comes and goes without generating any abiding adrenaline rush.
The actors operate in their own demarcated spaces with competence to drive home the defining traits of the characters that they portray. British actor Himesh Patel receives top billing alongside Lily James but Greedy People rides principally on Gordon-Levitt. He gives it his all. Sadly, that isn’t always enough.
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