Equity

Not sure why this movie was so bad. Perhaps the slow pace and the enforced slow dialogue. Perhaps the bad acting. In either or both cases this movie should be given a wide berth. I loved Anna Gunn in Breaking bad, in fact she was instrumental in it's popularity but I watched a different actress here. Her interpretation in this 'Wall St' type movie was simply awful. Totally unbelievable. I always turn off movies when the leading lady has either Botoxed lips or stupidly unreal white teeth, for some reason I can't take it serious from that point on. So many women in the industry feel the need to wreck their natural looks. Anyhow, back to the movie, I dare anyone to watch Gunn's on-screen divorced husband acting out a serious scene and avoid breaking out into laughter at his facial expressions. Again terrible acting. This movie could have been interesting but the casting director had lost his marbles. The writing was drawn out and laboured with far too many close up 'still life' moments. Take heed, it's valuable time you are wasting if you labour through this stuff.

When I saw the trailer, it did peak my interest. It looks like Wall Street or The Big Short, but with a twist, as the woman is playing the main character. It's a little sad that that's enough to make this situation unique, but it is.

The movie does really focus on the main character too. Well, actually there is a big ensemble cast, which all have their very unique story that really drives the story,

But it does focus a lot on the development of those characters, and the story suffers for this. I just found the movie too slow in it's delivery of the story. I feel like I spent too much time waiting for the story to happen in-between getting to know the characters.

It would not be that big of an issue but I don't feel the big pay off of the film. All the character development and I felt nothing for what happens to these people after the dust cleared.

Equity was about business, but it was too much business. Too stiff, Too clean of a strike. Did not hit me like it should, which kinda sucks as it's one of those movies about cooperation that's pretty easy to follow, which is great.

So yeah, a uniquely told story got me hooked but it's too bland for me to care about the outcome.

http://cinemagardens.com/

So, I'm not sure why, but I didn't have very high expectations. To say it's got a line up of quasi B-list actors would not be fair. But to be honest it ran through my mind. But I took a shot and was completely surprised. I was engaged from the beginning. Everyone is on point and drives an intriguing plot that kept my interest from start to finish!

Equity (2016) was directed by Meera Menon. It stars Anna Gunn as Naomi Bishop, a high-powered Wall Street executive whose specialty is taking corporations public with IPO's. (IPO stands for Initial Public Offering.) She has taken nine companies public, but her most recent effort has fallen short. Now, she's working with another company, and she's fighting for the opportunity to take it public.

James Purefoy plays Michael Connor, a hedge funder who is Naomi's lover. Alysia Reiner plays Samantha, Naomi's assistant, who is loyal, but who has ambitions of her own. Sarah Megan Thomas portrays Erin Manning, who works for the federal government. Her job is to discover and punish corporate crime, and she's very good at it. All three of these actors do very well in their roles.

I enjoyed this film, because it gave me a glimpse of a world I don't know, and don't really want to know. The acting was superb, the sets were excellent, and everything looked and felt real. As I noted, I don't know if the plot was realistic, but the sense of wealth, power, and greed felt real to me.

I don't see this as a movie about a woman trying to break through the glass ceiling. I see it as the story of a hard-driven, ambitious person, who is up against some strong, vicious, and crafty competitors. That's the life she's chosen, and that's the life she's living. It's not a happy life, even if you win. There's hardly a happy moment in the movie. Be prepared for a tale of ambition and treachery.

We saw this film at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It will work well on DVD.

Note: Equity has a horrible 5.4 IMDb rating. Normally, we would never go to a movie rated this low. However, when I looked at the ratings, it became clear that women liked the film, and men hated the film. As usual for IMDb, many more men than women vote. So, if men hate a film, that will lower its rating, even if women like it. My suggestion--ignore the rating and see it.

Awful movie. From the point of view of someone who wants to sit down and watch a good movie, this was a very dull 90 minutes. Poorly put together, lazy writing, littered the unnecessary f-words